American Century Companies Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,506,811 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 31,688 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 0.46% of Schlumberger worth $249,471,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Schlumberger in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in Schlumberger in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Schlumberger in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Schlumberger in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new position in Schlumberger in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on SLB shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Schlumberger from $60.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Schlumberger from $53.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Griffin Securities downgraded Schlumberger from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Evercore ISI reissued an “in-line” rating and set a $44.00 price objective (down from $62.00) on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on Schlumberger from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.81.

Insider Transactions at Schlumberger

In other news, insider Dianne B. Ralston sold 43,161 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.96, for a total transaction of $1,897,357.56. Following the sale, the insider now owns 235,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,331,655.04. This trade represents a 15.52 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Bejar Carmen Rando sold 5,524 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.41, for a total value of $223,224.84. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 30,829 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,245,799.89. This trade represents a 15.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, 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 Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SLB opened at $41.09 on Friday. 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 fifty-two week low of $36.52 and a fifty-two week high of $55.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.87 billion, a PE ratio of 13.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.47. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $41.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.41.

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 return on equity of 21.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. The business had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.86 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be given a dividend of $0.285 per share. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 5th. This is a positive change from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.66%.

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.