Biechele Royce Advisors Sells 1,542 Shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Biechele Royce Advisors decreased its holdings in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 1.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 96,525 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 1,542 shares during the quarter. Schlumberger makes up about 1.8% of Biechele Royce Advisors’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Biechele Royce Advisors’ holdings in Schlumberger were worth $5,291,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SLB. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC increased its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 53.5% in the 4th quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 1,960 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $102,000 after buying an additional 683 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 2,494.0% during the fourth quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 101,426 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $5,278,000 after purchasing an additional 97,516 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 36.4% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,424,625 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $74,080,000 after purchasing an additional 380,185 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 607,312 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $31,726,000 after purchasing an additional 35,763 shares during the period. Finally, Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Schlumberger during the fourth quarter worth $1,389,000. Institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

NYSE SLB traded up $0.90 during trading on Thursday, reaching $46.18. 6,239,403 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,156,501. Schlumberger Limited has a fifty-two week low of $42.61 and a fifty-two week high of $62.12. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $46.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $49.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.34, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.55.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The oil and gas company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.75. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.88% and a net margin of 12.72%. The company had revenue of $8.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.63 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 5th will be given a $0.275 dividend. This is an increase from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 5th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.38%. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.54%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Gavin Rennick sold 38,083 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.28, for a total transaction of $1,838,647.24. Following the sale, the insider now owns 45,851 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,213,686.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Gavin Rennick sold 38,083 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.28, for a total transaction of $1,838,647.24. Following the sale, the insider now owns 45,851 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,213,686.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CTO Demosthenis Pafitis sold 63,095 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.26, for a total value of $3,044,964.70. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 33,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,612,897.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 106,158 shares of company stock valued at $5,099,893. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SLB has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Schlumberger from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Bank of America decreased their target price on Schlumberger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. HSBC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $71.00 target price on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Schlumberger from $66.00 to $64.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.18.

Schlumberger Profile

Schlumberger Limited engages in the provision of technology for the energy industry worldwide. The company operates through four divisions: Digital & Integration, Reservoir Performance, Well Construction, and Production Systems. The company provides field development and hydrocarbon production, carbon management, and integration of adjacent energy systems; reservoir interpretation and data processing services for exploration data; and well construction and production improvement services and products.