SevenBridge Financial Group LLC Grows Position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

SevenBridge Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 4.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,519 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the period. SevenBridge Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $314,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in Schlumberger in the third quarter valued at $1,619,000. Atom Investors LP lifted its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 75.8% in the 3rd quarter. Atom Investors LP now owns 12,983 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $545,000 after purchasing an additional 5,597 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 315.2% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 32,673 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,371,000 after purchasing an additional 24,803 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC increased its position in Schlumberger by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 21,072 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $884,000 after purchasing an additional 528 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Investment Management Corp of Ontario raised its holdings in Schlumberger by 177.8% in the third quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 87,989 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,691,000 after buying an additional 56,317 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Schlumberger Price Performance

Shares of SLB opened at $42.23 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The firm has a market cap of $57.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.58, a PEG ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.11. Schlumberger Limited has a 52 week low of $36.52 and a 52 week high of $55.65. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $41.23 and a 200-day moving average of $41.50.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.24 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.86 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be issued a $0.285 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 5th. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.70%. This is a boost from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.66%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SLB has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Schlumberger from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and issued a $44.00 target price (down previously from $62.00) on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $57.00 target price on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Schlumberger from $60.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.69.

Insider Activity

In other Schlumberger news, insider Dianne B. Ralston sold 43,161 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.96, for a total value of $1,897,357.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 235,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,331,655.04. This represents a 15.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Ugo Prechner sold 7,000 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.20, for a total value of $309,400.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 11,240 shares in the company, valued at approximately $496,808. This trade represents a 38.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 315,905 shares of company stock valued at $13,609,283. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.