Ledyard National Bank Takes Position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Ledyard National Bank bought a new stake in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 4,981 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $259,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of SLB. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 79.7% in the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 4,919,990 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $286,835,000 after purchasing an additional 2,182,706 shares in the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Schlumberger by 34.9% during the third quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 8,056,492 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $469,693,000 after acquiring an additional 2,085,506 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Schlumberger by 30.5% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,370,835 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $488,020,000 after acquiring an additional 1,954,620 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its holdings in Schlumberger by 156.3% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 2,974,987 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $173,442,000 after acquiring an additional 1,814,440 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Wealth Planning LLC lifted its holdings in Schlumberger by 48.2% during the third quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 5,555,662 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $323,895,000 after acquiring an additional 1,807,061 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SLB traded down $0.75 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $48.46. The company had a trading volume of 4,745,451 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,079,728. The company has a market capitalization of $69.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.35, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.60. Schlumberger Limited has a 1 year low of $42.73 and a 1 year high of $62.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $51.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $52.02.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The oil and gas company reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.75. The company had revenue of $8.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.70 billion. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.88% and a net margin of 12.72%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.63 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.275 per share. This is a positive change from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 5th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.54%.

Insider Activity at Schlumberger

In related news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 50,000 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.52, for a total transaction of $2,426,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 261,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,688,319.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Schlumberger news, insider Gavin Rennick sold 20,045 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.77, for a total transaction of $977,594.65. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 77,563 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,782,747.51. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 50,000 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.52, for a total value of $2,426,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 261,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,688,319.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 76,295 shares of company stock valued at $3,707,595. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on SLB. Barclays dropped their price target on Schlumberger from $74.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating and set a $77.00 price target on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $64.00 price target on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Schlumberger from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.72.

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.