Edge Capital Group LLC Sells 3,682 Shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Edge Capital Group LLC decreased its stake in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 228,471 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 3,682 shares during the quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $8,760,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of SLB. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Schlumberger by 12,289.6% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 13,043,359 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $500,082,000 after purchasing an additional 12,938,082 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 20.6% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 11,213,944 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $470,425,000 after acquiring an additional 1,916,851 shares during the last quarter. Scharf Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Schlumberger in the 4th quarter valued at $52,607,000. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 12.7% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 8,103,715 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $310,696,000 after acquiring an additional 915,925 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Schlumberger in the 3rd quarter valued at $37,322,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Dianne B. Ralston sold 43,161 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $10,331,655.04. The trade was a 15.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Ugo Prechner sold 7,000 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.20, for a total transaction of $309,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 11,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $496,808. This represents a 38.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 263,782 shares of company stock valued at $11,442,229. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Schlumberger Price Performance

Shares of SLB opened at $41.73 on Monday. Schlumberger Limited has a 1-year low of $36.52 and a 1-year high of $55.69. The stock has a market cap of $58.45 billion, a PE ratio of 13.42, a P/E/G ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.51. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.24 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.86 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be paid a $0.285 dividend. 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.73%. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on SLB shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $57.00 price objective on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Atb Cap Markets downgraded shares of Schlumberger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $60.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI reissued an “in-line” rating and set a $44.00 price target (down from $62.00) on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.