Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. Sells 35,545 Shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. cut its position in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 7.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 433,202 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 35,545 shares during the quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P.’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $16,609,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Schlumberger during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in Schlumberger during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Schlumberger in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Schlumberger in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in Schlumberger in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Schlumberger

In related news, insider Gavin Rennick sold 26,990 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.92, for a total value of $1,104,430.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 53,584 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,192,657.28. The trade was a 33.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Mogharbel Khaled Al sold 123,097 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 184,626 shares in the company, valued at $8,140,160.34. The trade was a 40.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 290,772 shares of company stock valued at $12,546,660 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Schlumberger Price Performance

Schlumberger stock opened at $41.42 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $56.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.32, a PEG ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.47. 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. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $41.00 and its 200-day moving average is $41.46.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.24 billion. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.86 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be paid a $0.285 dividend. This is a boost from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 5th. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.75%. Schlumberger’s payout ratio is 36.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on SLB shares. Griffin Securities cut Schlumberger from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Schlumberger from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Citigroup boosted their price target on Schlumberger from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Schlumberger from $53.00 to $48.00 in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $61.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock 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.