WealthTrust Axiom LLC Sells 2,458 Shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

WealthTrust Axiom LLC reduced its stake in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 5.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 45,709 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 2,458 shares during the quarter. WealthTrust Axiom LLC’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $2,379,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. BluePath Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Schlumberger during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Schlumberger in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Schlumberger by 1,180.4% in the 4th quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 653 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 602 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. grew its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 64.3% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 746 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the period. Finally, Motco increased its holdings in Schlumberger by 52.7% in the third quarter. Motco now owns 823 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on SLB shares. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $64.00 target price on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Schlumberger from $74.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.72.

Schlumberger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SLB traded down $1.44 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $47.77. 9,201,052 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,131,230. Schlumberger Limited has a 1-year low of $42.73 and a 1-year high of $62.12. The company has a market cap of $68.28 billion, a PE ratio of 16.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.37. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $51.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $52.02.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last issued its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $8.71 billion for 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.63 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.51 EPS for the current year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.275 per share. This is an increase 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 dividend yield of 2.30%. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.54%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.52, for a total transaction of $2,426,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Schlumberger news, insider Gavin Rennick sold 20,045 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.77, for a total transaction of $977,594.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 77,563 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,782,747.51. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were 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 directly owns 261,507 shares in the company, valued at $12,688,319.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 76,295 shares of company stock valued at $3,707,595 in the last ninety days. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.