PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Sells 1,129,272 Shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 51.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,056,262 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 1,129,272 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $40,497,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SLB. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Schlumberger during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new position in Schlumberger during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Schlumberger during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Schlumberger during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Schlumberger during the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SLB has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $57.00 target price on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price 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, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Schlumberger to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.81.

Insider Buying and Selling at Schlumberger

In other Schlumberger news, Director Vijay Kasibhatla sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.94, for a total transaction of $1,098,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 49,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,179,204.30. This represents a 33.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Gavin Rennick sold 26,990 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.92, for a total transaction of $1,104,430.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 53,584 shares in the company, valued at $2,192,657.28. The trade was a 33.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 290,772 shares of company stock worth $12,546,660. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Schlumberger Trading Up 4.0 %

NYSE:SLB opened at $41.36 on Monday. Schlumberger Limited has a 52 week low of $36.52 and a 52 week high of $55.69. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $40.73 and a 200 day moving average of $41.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.30, a PEG ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.47.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.02. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 21.90%. The company had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.86 earnings per share. Schlumberger’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.285 per share. This is a positive change from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 5th. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.76%. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.