Blue Trust Inc. Acquires 5,962 Shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 27.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 28,073 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,962 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $1,178,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ORG Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 393.5% during the third quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 607 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 484 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Schlumberger during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Schlumberger during the third quarter valued at about $37,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. raised its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 1,068.3% during the third quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 958 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 876 shares during the last quarter. Finally, J. Stern & Co. LLP bought a new position in shares of Schlumberger during the third quarter valued at about $47,000. 81.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Schlumberger

In related news, VP Ugo Prechner sold 7,000 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.20, for a total transaction of $309,400.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 11,240 shares in the company, valued at approximately $496,808. The trade was a 38.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Vijay Kasibhatla sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.94, for a total transaction of $1,098,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 49,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,179,204.30. This trade represents a 33.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 198,258 shares of company stock worth $8,732,604 in the last 90 days. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Schlumberger Trading Down 2.8 %

Shares of Schlumberger stock opened at $41.33 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.36 billion, a PE ratio of 13.29, a P/E/G ratio of 9.98 and a beta of 1.52. Schlumberger Limited has a 1-year low of $36.52 and a 1-year high of $55.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last issued its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.24 billion. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 21.90%. The company’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.86 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.285 per share. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 5th. This is a boost from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on SLB. Evercore ISI restated an “in-line” rating and issued a $44.00 price objective (down from $62.00) on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Atb Cap Markets lowered shares of Schlumberger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $53.00 to $48.00 in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Schlumberger to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $57.00 price objective on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Schlumberger has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.