Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 328,800 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 5,000 shares during the quarter. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $13,793,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SLB. ORG Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 393.5% in the 3rd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 607 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 484 shares during the period. Register Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Schlumberger in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 204.2% in the 2nd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 584 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 392 shares during the period. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Schlumberger in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Schlumberger by 297.9% during the 1st quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 569 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 426 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

Schlumberger stock opened at $41.25 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $58.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.70, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.51. Schlumberger Limited has a fifty-two week low of $38.66 and a fifty-two week high of $57.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.48. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $43.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $45.75.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The oil and gas company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.01. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.84% and a net margin of 12.44%. The company had revenue of $9.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.78 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 4th will be given a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 4th. Schlumberger’s payout ratio is 36.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on SLB. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 target price on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Schlumberger from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Schlumberger from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Schlumberger from $64.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 target price (down previously from $62.00) on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.97.

Insider Activity

In other Schlumberger news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.90, for a total value of $2,514,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 211,937 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,880,160.30. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

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.