Skylands Capital LLC Invests $2.95 Million in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Skylands Capital LLC acquired a new position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 76,850 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,946,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky increased its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 25.9% in the third quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 761,875 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $31,961,000 after acquiring an additional 156,698 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 27.0% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 76,838 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,223,000 after acquiring an additional 16,350 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Schlumberger by 8.7% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 817,771 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $34,305,000 after buying an additional 65,318 shares during the period. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC grew its position in Schlumberger by 502.6% during the fourth 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 during the period. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Schlumberger by 269.1% during the third quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 19,718 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $827,000 after buying an additional 14,376 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

NYSE:SLB opened at $41.73 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $40.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company has a market cap of $58.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.42, a P/E/G ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.51. Schlumberger Limited has a twelve month low of $36.52 and a twelve month high of $55.69.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last posted 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. The firm had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.24 billion. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 21.90%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.86 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.285 dividend. This is an increase from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 5th. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.66%.

Insider Transactions at Schlumberger

In other Schlumberger news, VP Ugo Prechner sold 7,000 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.20, for a total transaction of $309,400.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 11,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $496,808. The trade was a 38.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Bejar Carmen Rando sold 5,524 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.41, for a total transaction of $223,224.84. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 30,829 shares in the company, valued at $1,245,799.89. This trade represents a 15.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 263,782 shares of company stock valued at $11,442,229. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SLB has been the topic of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $60.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $47.00 price target on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Schlumberger to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Griffin Securities lowered shares of Schlumberger from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI restated an “in-line” rating and set a $44.00 price target (down previously from $62.00) on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Schlumberger presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.81.

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.