Royal Fund Management LLC Cuts Position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Royal Fund Management LLC cut its position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 49.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,366 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 43,422 shares during the period. Royal Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $1,701,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new stake in Schlumberger during the 2nd quarter worth about $385,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Schlumberger by 4.7% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 100,979 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,764,000 after purchasing an additional 4,575 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in Schlumberger by 1.8% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 392,899 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $18,537,000 after purchasing an additional 6,998 shares in the last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC increased its stake in Schlumberger by 42.7% in the second quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 16,381 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $777,000 after purchasing an additional 4,898 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ensign Peak Advisors Inc raised its holdings in Schlumberger by 22.1% during the second quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 605,173 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $28,552,000 after purchasing an additional 109,470 shares in the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Schlumberger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SLB opened at $43.58 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.45. Schlumberger Limited has a one year low of $36.52 and a one year high of $55.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.01, a PEG ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 1.52. The company’s fifty day moving average is $40.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.84.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last issued its 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. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 21.90%. The company had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9,241,140 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.86 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.29 EPS for the current fiscal 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 dividend of $0.285 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 5th. This is a boost from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.62%. Schlumberger’s payout ratio is currently 35.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Griffin Securities lowered shares of Schlumberger from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Schlumberger to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Barclays dropped their price target on Schlumberger from $61.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Schlumberger from $53.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Atb Cap Markets lowered shares of Schlumberger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $56.03.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.90, for a total transaction of $2,514,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 211,937 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,880,160.30. The trade was a 22.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.