Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. Boosts Stake in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 122.4% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 30,495 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 16,783 shares during the period. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $1,279,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 11.5% in the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 27,713 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,519,000 after buying an additional 2,866 shares in the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 114.9% in the first quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 52,858 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,897,000 after purchasing an additional 28,256 shares in the last quarter. Banco Santander S.A. lifted its holdings in Schlumberger by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 26,169 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,434,000 after buying an additional 1,748 shares in the last quarter. M&G Plc purchased a new position in Schlumberger in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $16,509,000. Finally, Councilmark Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Schlumberger in the first quarter worth $415,000. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on SLB shares. Susquehanna lowered their target price on Schlumberger from $60.00 to $56.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $68.00 price objective on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Schlumberger from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price target on Schlumberger from $68.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.97.

Insider Transactions at Schlumberger

In other Schlumberger news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.90, for a total value of $2,514,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 211,937 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,880,160.30. This represents a 22.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Schlumberger Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE SLB opened at $43.45 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $61.36 billion, a PE ratio of 13.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.52. Schlumberger Limited has a one year low of $38.66 and a one year high of $55.69. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $42.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.48.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The oil and gas company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $9.27 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.78 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Schlumberger Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 4th will be given a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 4th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.53%. Schlumberger’s payout ratio is currently 35.37%.

Schlumberger Company 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.