Sapient Capital LLC Purchases New Shares in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Sapient Capital LLC bought a new position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 4,759 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $249,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. BluePath Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Schlumberger during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Schlumberger during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Schlumberger by 1,180.4% in the 4th quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 653 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 602 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. boosted its stake in Schlumberger by 64.3% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 746 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Bridge LLC increased its position in shares of Schlumberger by 39.4% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Bridge LLC now owns 853 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Schlumberger Trading Up 0.4 %

SLB stock opened at $48.17 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $68.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.00, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.64. Schlumberger Limited has a 52-week low of $42.73 and a 52-week high of $62.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $51.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $51.51.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The oil and gas company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.75. The business had revenue of $8.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.70 billion. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.88% and a net margin of 12.72%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.63 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 5th. This is an increase from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio is 36.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.52, for a total value of $2,426,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 261,507 shares in the company, valued at $12,688,319.64. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CFO Stephane Biguet sold 6,250 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.64, for a total transaction of $304,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 242,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,816,212.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.52, for a total transaction of $2,426,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 261,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,688,319.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SLB has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Schlumberger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Schlumberger from $66.00 to $64.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $65.00 price target on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.72.

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.