Waverton Investment Management Ltd Boosts Stake in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Waverton Investment Management Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 5.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,228,411 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 115,547 shares during the period. Schlumberger comprises about 1.4% of Waverton Investment Management Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Waverton Investment Management Ltd owned approximately 0.16% of Schlumberger worth $85,493,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Schlumberger during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new stake in Schlumberger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Schlumberger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Schlumberger in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Schlumberger in the third quarter worth $37,000. Institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on SLB shares. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Schlumberger from $49.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Evercore ISI reissued an “in-line” rating and set a $44.00 target price (down previously from $62.00) on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Schlumberger from $53.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Schlumberger to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Schlumberger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.81.

Schlumberger Stock Down 2.1 %

NYSE:SLB opened at $41.73 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $58.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.42, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.89.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.24 billion. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 21.90%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.86 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be paid 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 2.73%. This is a boost from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio is 36.66%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Schlumberger news, insider Bejar Carmen Rando sold 5,524 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were 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 represents a 15.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Ugo Prechner sold 7,000 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 11,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $496,808. This represents a 38.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 263,782 shares of company stock worth $11,442,229 in the last ninety days. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.