Inspire Advisors LLC Acquires 1,036 Shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Inspire Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 8.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,711 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,036 shares during the quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $526,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SLB. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its stake in Schlumberger by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 60,405 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,534,000 after purchasing an additional 550 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Schlumberger by 26.0% in the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 307,040 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $12,880,000 after purchasing an additional 63,413 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Schlumberger in the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in shares of Schlumberger during the 3rd quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Schlumberger by 84.0% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,294 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $96,000 after buying an additional 1,047 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

NYSE:SLB opened at $40.09 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $40.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.57. Schlumberger Limited has a twelve month low of $36.52 and a twelve month high of $55.69. The stock has a market cap of $54.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.89, a PEG ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.24 billion. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. Schlumberger’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.86 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 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. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.84%. This is a boost from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 5th. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.66%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on SLB. Griffin Securities cut Schlumberger from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and set a $44.00 price target (down previously from $62.00) on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Schlumberger from $60.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Schlumberger from $53.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $57.00 price target on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Six 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.81.

Insider Activity at Schlumberger

In other Schlumberger news, EVP Mogharbel Khaled Al sold 123,097 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.09, for a total value of $5,427,346.73. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 184,626 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,140,160.34. The trade was a 40.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Vijay Kasibhatla sold 25,000 shares of Schlumberger 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 49,595 shares in the company, valued at $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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 290,772 shares of company stock valued at $12,546,660. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

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.