Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Trims Stake in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lessened its stake in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 50.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 86,479 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 87,102 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $3,316,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Schlumberger during the third quarter valued at $29,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of Schlumberger during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Schlumberger during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Schlumberger in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Schlumberger in the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Schlumberger Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of SLB opened at $41.63 on Friday. Schlumberger Limited has a 52-week low of $36.52 and a 52-week high of $55.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.81. The company has a market capitalization of $56.61 billion, a PE ratio of 13.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.51.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.24 billion. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 21.90%. Schlumberger’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.86 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be given a dividend of $0.285 per share. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 5th. This is a positive change from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Schlumberger’s payout ratio is presently 36.66%.

Insider Activity at Schlumberger

In other news, EVP Mogharbel Khaled Al sold 123,097 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.09, for a total value of $5,427,346.73. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 184,626 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,140,160.34. The trade was a 40.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Ugo Prechner sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.20, for a total transaction of $309,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 11,240 shares in the company, valued at approximately $496,808. This represents a 38.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 290,772 shares of company stock worth $12,546,660. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Schlumberger from $60.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Schlumberger to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $57.00 price objective on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $61.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.81.

Schlumberger Company 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.