Allianz SE Buys Shares of 165,595 Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Allianz SE purchased a new position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 165,595 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,261,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allstate Corp purchased a new stake in Schlumberger during the 4th quarter valued at $1,620,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 18.6% in the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 21,941 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $841,000 after acquiring an additional 3,440 shares during the period. Level Four Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Schlumberger during the fourth quarter valued at $246,000. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its position in Schlumberger by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 75,401 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,891,000 after acquiring an additional 2,740 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its holdings in Schlumberger by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,142,540 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $43,805,000 after acquiring an additional 20,392 shares during the period. 81.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Schlumberger Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE SLB opened at $41.87 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $41.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.46. Schlumberger Limited has a one year low of $36.52 and a one year high of $55.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.45. The company has a market capitalization of $56.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.46, a P/E/G ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.47.

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. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 21.90%. The business had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.86 earnings per share. Schlumberger’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.285 per share. This is a boost from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 5th. Schlumberger’s payout ratio is presently 36.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Schlumberger

In other Schlumberger news, insider Bejar Carmen Rando sold 5,524 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.41, for a total transaction of $223,224.84. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 30,829 shares in the company, valued at $1,245,799.89. The trade was a 15.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Gavin Rennick sold 26,990 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.92, for a total transaction of $1,104,430.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 53,584 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,192,657.28. This trade represents a 33.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 290,772 shares of company stock worth $12,546,660 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on SLB shares. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $53.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $61.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $57.00 price objective on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Evercore ISI reiterated an “in-line” rating and set a $44.00 target price (down from $62.00) on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Atb Cap Markets lowered shares of Schlumberger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Schlumberger currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.69.

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.