FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co Increases Stake in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co boosted its stake in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 17.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,422 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 931 shares during the quarter. FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $246,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Schlumberger by 4,640.0% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 202,635 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $8,501,000 after buying an additional 198,360 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Schlumberger by 6.7% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 47,548 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,995,000 after buying an additional 2,986 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Schlumberger by 27.4% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 87,301 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,692,000 after buying an additional 18,797 shares in the last quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Schlumberger in the third quarter valued at approximately $235,000. Finally, Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors increased its position in shares of Schlumberger by 36.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors now owns 13,400 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $562,000 after buying an additional 3,576 shares in the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

Shares of Schlumberger stock opened at $40.53 on Thursday. Schlumberger Limited has a 52 week low of $36.52 and a 52 week high of $55.69. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.85. The firm has a market cap of $55.11 billion, a PE ratio of 13.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.10 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 (NYSE:SLB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.24 billion. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.86 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 earnings per share 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 issued a $0.285 dividend. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 5th. This is an increase from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Schlumberger’s payout ratio is currently 36.66%.

Insider Activity at Schlumberger

In related news, EVP Mogharbel Khaled Al sold 123,097 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.09, for a total value of $5,427,346.73. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 184,626 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,140,160.34. The trade was a 40.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.44, for a total value of $2,486,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 210,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,723,202.88. This trade represents a 22.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 290,772 shares of company stock worth $12,546,660. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on SLB. Piper Sandler began coverage on Schlumberger in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $47.00 price objective for the company. Atb Cap Markets cut Schlumberger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Schlumberger to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Schlumberger from $53.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Schlumberger from $60.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Schlumberger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.81.

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.