Ingalls & Snyder LLC Buys 5,950 Shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Ingalls & Snyder LLC boosted its stake in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 35.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 22,580 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,950 shares during the period. Ingalls & Snyder LLC’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $866,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SLB. ORG Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Schlumberger by 393.5% in the third quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 607 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 484 shares during the period. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Schlumberger in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Schlumberger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Schlumberger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Schlumberger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. 81.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Schlumberger

In other Schlumberger news, insider Dianne B. Ralston sold 43,161 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.96, for a total value of $1,897,357.56. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 235,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,331,655.04. This trade represents a 15.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bejar Carmen Rando sold 5,524 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 30,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,245,799.89. The trade was a 15.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 263,782 shares of company stock valued at $11,442,229 in the last quarter. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on SLB shares. Atb Cap Markets downgraded shares of Schlumberger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and issued a $44.00 price objective (down from $62.00) on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Schlumberger from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Schlumberger to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $53.00 to $48.00 in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Six 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.81.

Schlumberger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SLB opened at $42.07 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $58.94 billion, a PE ratio of 13.53, a P/E/G ratio of 9.49 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Schlumberger Limited has a twelve month low of $36.52 and a twelve month high of $55.69. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.09.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 21.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. The firm had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.24 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.86 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.285 per share. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.71%. This is a boost from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 5th. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.66%.

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.