Strategic Financial Concepts LLC Takes Position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 47,343 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,815,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Schlumberger by 0.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 90,209,014 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,808,476,000 after acquiring an additional 528,279 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Schlumberger by 0.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 28,608,226 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,195,290,000 after acquiring an additional 239,966 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Schlumberger by 12,289.6% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 13,043,359 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $500,082,000 after acquiring an additional 12,938,082 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Schlumberger by 20.6% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 11,213,944 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $470,425,000 after acquiring an additional 1,916,851 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Schlumberger by 0.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,990,797 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $335,214,000 after acquiring an additional 31,718 shares in the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Schlumberger Price Performance

SLB stock opened at $41.19 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 1 year low of $36.52 and a 1 year high of $55.69. The firm has a market cap of $57.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.49 and a beta of 1.51. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.19.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.24 billion. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.86 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be issued a $0.285 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 5th. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.77%. This is an increase from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.66%.

Insider Activity at Schlumberger

In related news, VP Ugo Prechner sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.20, for a total value of $309,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 11,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $496,808. This represents a 38.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Vijay Kasibhatla sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.94, for a total value of $1,098,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 49,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,179,204.30. This represents a 33.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 263,782 shares of company stock valued at $11,442,229. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on SLB shares. Barclays dropped their target price on Schlumberger from $61.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Schlumberger from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $57.00 target price on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Evercore ISI reiterated an “in-line” rating and issued a $44.00 target price (down from $62.00) on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Schlumberger from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.81.

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.