Welch & Forbes LLC Sells 647 Shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Welch & Forbes LLC trimmed its position in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 5.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,958 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 647 shares during the quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $420,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SLB. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Schlumberger during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new stake in shares of Schlumberger during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Schlumberger during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Schlumberger in the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Schlumberger in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on SLB shares. Piper Sandler started coverage on Schlumberger in a report on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $47.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Schlumberger from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Atb Cap Markets lowered shares of Schlumberger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Schlumberger currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.81.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

NYSE:SLB opened at $41.36 on Friday. 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 cap of $56.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.30, a PEG ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.47. Schlumberger Limited has a 1 year low of $36.52 and a 1 year high of $55.69. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $40.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.64.

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 company had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.24 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.86 earnings per share. Schlumberger’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be given a $0.285 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 5th. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.76%. This is a positive change from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.66%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Bejar Carmen Rando sold 5,524 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.41, for a total value of $223,224.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 30,829 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,245,799.89. The trade was a 15.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Vijay Kasibhatla sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.94, for a total value of $1,098,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 49,595 shares in the company, valued at $2,179,204.30. The trade was a 33.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 290,772 shares of company stock valued at $12,546,660 over the last ninety days. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.