MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC Buys New Position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC bought 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 bought 3,390 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $176,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Highland Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 2,494.0% during the fourth quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 101,426 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $5,278,000 after acquiring an additional 97,516 shares in the last quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD boosted its stake in Schlumberger by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 331,309 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $19,468,000 after purchasing an additional 965 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in Schlumberger by 36.4% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,424,625 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $74,080,000 after purchasing an additional 380,185 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 3.8% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 5,557 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $324,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 607,312 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $31,726,000 after purchasing an additional 35,763 shares in the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Schlumberger news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $12,688,319.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Schlumberger news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 50,000 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 261,507 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,688,319.64. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Stephane Biguet sold 6,250 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.64, for a total value of $304,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 242,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,816,212.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

Shares of SLB stock traded up $0.31 during trading on Monday, reaching $47.97. 9,857,742 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,153,605. Schlumberger Limited has a 1 year low of $42.73 and a 1 year high of $62.12. The company has a market capitalization of $68.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.94, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.64. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average is $51.63 and its 200 day moving average is $51.67.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The oil and gas company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75. The firm 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.63 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.51 EPS for the current year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 5th will be issued a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.29%. This is an increase from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 5th. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SLB has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Schlumberger from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating and set a $77.00 price target on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $68.00 price objective on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, HSBC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $71.00 target price on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Schlumberger currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.72.

About Schlumberger

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.