Old North State Wealth Management LLC Buys New Shares in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Old North State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 5,752 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $221,000.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Avitas Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Schlumberger by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC now owns 86,285 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,308,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. Welch Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 6,206 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $235,000 after buying an additional 409 shares during the last quarter. Tandem Capital Management Corp ADV increased its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Tandem Capital Management Corp ADV now owns 37,530 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,439,000 after buying an additional 2,090 shares during the last quarter. Patron Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Patron Partners LLC now owns 8,498 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $326,000 after buying an additional 297 shares during the last quarter. Finally, U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 17.4% in the 4th quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 144,284 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $5,532,000 after buying an additional 21,435 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SLB. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Schlumberger to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $47.00 target price on the stock. Susquehanna reduced their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $60.00 to $56.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 21st. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $61.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.81.

Insider Transactions at Schlumberger

In related news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.44, for a total transaction of $2,486,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 210,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,723,202.88. This represents a 22.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Bejar Carmen Rando sold 5,524 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.41, for a total transaction of $223,224.84. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 30,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,245,799.89. The trade was a 15.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 263,782 shares of company stock valued at $11,442,229. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Schlumberger Price Performance

Shares of SLB stock opened at $41.23 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The company has a market capitalization of $57.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.26, a P/E/G ratio of 9.55 and a beta of 1.51. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $40.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.43. Schlumberger Limited has a one year low of $36.52 and a one year high of $55.69.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.86 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The firm 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 $0.285 dividend. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 5th. This is a boost from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.37%.

About Schlumberger

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.