Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. Makes New Investment in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 67,154 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,575,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SLB. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 12,289.6% during 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 buying an additional 12,938,082 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 20.6% during 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 buying an additional 1,916,851 shares during the last quarter. Scharf Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Schlumberger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $52,607,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 12.7% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 8,103,715 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $310,696,000 after buying an additional 915,925 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new position in shares of Schlumberger during the third quarter valued at approximately $37,322,000. Institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

Shares of SLB stock opened at $41.73 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.90. The company has a market cap of $58.45 billion, a PE ratio of 13.42, a PEG ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Schlumberger Limited has a 12-month low of $36.52 and a 12-month high of $55.69.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.24 billion. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.86 earnings per share. Analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be given a dividend of $0.285 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 5th. This is an increase from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.73%. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.66%.

Insider Transactions at Schlumberger

In related news, VP Ugo Prechner sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.20, for a total value of $309,400.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 11,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $496,808. This represents a 38.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Vijay Kasibhatla sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were 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 approximately $2,179,204.30. The trade was a 33.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 263,782 shares of company stock valued at $11,442,229. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on SLB. Citigroup upped their target price on Schlumberger from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $57.00 price target on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Piper Sandler began coverage on Schlumberger in a report on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $47.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Schlumberger from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Schlumberger to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.81.

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.