Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 496,984 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 22,147 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $19,054,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SLB. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its position in shares of Schlumberger by 25.9% during the 3rd quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 761,875 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $31,961,000 after acquiring an additional 156,698 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 27.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 76,838 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,223,000 after buying an additional 16,350 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 817,771 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $34,305,000 after buying an additional 65,318 shares during the last quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Schlumberger by 502.6% during the 4th quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 198,024 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $7,592,000 after buying an additional 165,162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Schlumberger by 26.0% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 307,040 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $12,880,000 after buying an additional 63,413 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on SLB shares. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Schlumberger from $60.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Griffin Securities downgraded Schlumberger from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Schlumberger from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $57.00 price objective on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $53.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Six equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.81.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Vijay Kasibhatla sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.94, for a total transaction of $1,098,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 49,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,179,204.30. This trade represents a 33.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Ugo Prechner sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $496,808. This represents a 38.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 290,772 shares of company stock worth $12,546,660. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Schlumberger Price Performance

SLB opened at $40.09 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $54.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.89, a PEG ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Schlumberger Limited has a 12-month low of $36.52 and a 12-month high of $55.69. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.57.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last issued its earnings results 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. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 21.90%. The company had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.24 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.86 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.285 per share. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.84%. This is a positive change from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 5th. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.66%.

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.