Clearbridge Investments LLC Acquires 18,342 Shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 638,472 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 18,342 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $33,226,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SLB. Highland Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Schlumberger by 2,494.0% in the 4th quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 101,426 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $5,278,000 after buying an additional 97,516 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Schlumberger by 36.4% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,424,625 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $74,080,000 after acquiring an additional 380,185 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its position in 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 worth $31,726,000 after purchasing an additional 35,763 shares during the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC bought a new position in Schlumberger in the 4th quarter valued at $1,389,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 85.3% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 313,518 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $16,315,000 after purchasing an additional 144,327 shares during the period. 81.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on SLB. HSBC restated a “buy” rating and set a $71.00 price target on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Schlumberger from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $53.00 in a report on Monday, April 29th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Schlumberger from $74.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Schlumberger from $66.00 to $64.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Schlumberger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.72.

Insider Buying and Selling at Schlumberger

In other news, CFO Stephane Biguet sold 6,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.64, for a total value of $304,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 242,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,816,212.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Gavin Rennick sold 38,083 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.28, for a total value of $1,838,647.24. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 45,851 shares in the company, valued at $2,213,686.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Stephane Biguet sold 6,250 shares of the 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 $11,816,212.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 157,428 shares of company stock worth $7,613,612 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

Shares of SLB opened at $46.32 on Friday. Schlumberger Limited has a 12-month low of $42.73 and a 12-month 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 company has a market cap of $66.21 billion, a PE ratio of 15.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.64. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $51.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $50.87.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last announced its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $8.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.70 billion. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.72% and a return on equity of 21.88%. Schlumberger’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.63 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 5th will be paid a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 5th. This is a boost from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.54%.

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.