Motco Has $3.45 Million Stake in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Motco grew its position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 90,101 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,089 shares during the quarter. Motco’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $3,454,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Schlumberger during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new position in shares of Schlumberger in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Schlumberger in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Schlumberger during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Schlumberger during the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. Institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Schlumberger Price Performance

SLB stock opened at $40.86 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $40.41 and its 200-day moving average is $41.84. Schlumberger Limited has a 1 year low of $36.52 and a 1 year high of $55.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.56 billion, a PE ratio of 13.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.51.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $9.28 billion during 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.86 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect 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. 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.79%. Schlumberger’s payout ratio is presently 36.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Mogharbel Khaled Al sold 123,097 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.09, for a total transaction of $5,427,346.73. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 184,626 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,140,160.34. This represents a 40.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Gavin Rennick sold 26,990 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.92, for a total value of $1,104,430.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 53,584 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,192,657.28. This trade represents a 33.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 290,772 shares of company stock worth $12,546,660 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on SLB. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Schlumberger from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating 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 report on Wednesday, January 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Schlumberger to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $49.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Schlumberger from $61.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Schlumberger currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.81.

Schlumberger Company 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.