Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. Raises Stock Position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 100.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,622 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,314 shares during the period. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $278,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of SLB. ORG Partners LLC grew its position 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 worth $25,000 after buying an additional 484 shares in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Schlumberger by 204.2% during the second quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 584 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 392 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Schlumberger during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Schlumberger during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co boosted its holdings in Schlumberger by 90.6% in the second quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 648 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Schlumberger Price Performance

Schlumberger stock opened at $43.47 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $44.46. Schlumberger Limited has a 12 month low of $38.66 and a 12 month high of $55.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.39 billion, a PE ratio of 13.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.52.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The oil and gas company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $9.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.27 billion. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.44% and a return on equity of 21.84%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.78 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Schlumberger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 4th will be issued a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 4th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.53%. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.37%.

Insider Transactions at Schlumberger

In other news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 211,937 shares in the company, valued at $8,880,160.30. This trade represents a 22.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SLB has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price target (down from $62.00) on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Monday, October 21st. Susquehanna lowered their price target on Schlumberger from $60.00 to $56.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 21st. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Schlumberger from $68.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $69.00 price target on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Schlumberger from $53.00 to $49.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Schlumberger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.97.

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.