Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) Shares Sold by Manning & Napier Advisors LLC

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 373,188 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 11,521 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $14,308,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in SLB. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Schlumberger in the fourth quarter valued at $166,000. Wealth Effects LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Schlumberger in the fourth quarter worth about $360,000. Stonegate Investment Group LLC grew its holdings in Schlumberger by 22.3% during the fourth quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 27,706 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,062,000 after acquiring an additional 5,053 shares during the period. Perigon Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Schlumberger by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,859 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $693,000 after acquiring an additional 1,146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jeppson Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Schlumberger by 22.7% in the fourth quarter. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,055 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $232,000 after acquiring an additional 1,120 shares during the period. 81.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Schlumberger

In other Schlumberger news, VP Ugo Prechner sold 7,000 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.20, for a total transaction of $309,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 11,240 shares in the company, valued at $496,808. This trade represents a 38.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Mogharbel Khaled Al sold 123,097 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.09, for a total transaction of $5,427,346.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 184,626 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,140,160.34. This represents a 40.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 198,258 shares of company stock worth $8,732,604. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on SLB shares. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $60.00 to $56.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 14th. Griffin Securities lowered shares of Schlumberger from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Schlumberger from $49.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Schlumberger from $60.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.81.

Schlumberger Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE SLB traded up $0.18 on Wednesday, reaching $41.50. 1,607,475 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,048,913. Schlumberger Limited has a fifty-two week low of $36.52 and a fifty-two week high of $55.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.98 and a beta of 1.52. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $40.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.86 earnings per share. Schlumberger’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be given a dividend of $0.285 per share. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 5th. This is a positive change from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Schlumberger’s payout ratio is presently 35.37%.

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.