Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. Sells 35,545 Shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. reduced its holdings in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 7.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 433,202 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 35,545 shares during the quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P.’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $16,609,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. CX Institutional lifted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. CX Institutional now owns 10,370 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $398,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in Schlumberger by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC now owns 6,701 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $281,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. TCW Group Inc. boosted its position in Schlumberger by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 19,797 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $759,000 after buying an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 56,714 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,174,000 after buying an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cromwell Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 4,350 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $167,000 after buying an additional 283 shares in the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Ugo Prechner sold 7,000 shares of the business’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $496,808. The trade was a 38.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Vijay Kasibhatla sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.94, for a total transaction of $1,098,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 49,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,179,204.30. The trade was a 33.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 290,772 shares of company stock worth $12,546,660. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Griffin Securities cut Schlumberger from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Evercore ISI reiterated an “in-line” rating and set a $44.00 target price (down from $62.00) on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Schlumberger from $49.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Schlumberger from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.81.

Schlumberger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SLB opened at $41.42 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $41.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.32, a P/E/G ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.47. Schlumberger Limited has a 1-year low of $36.52 and a 1-year high of $55.69.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.24 billion. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.86 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.285 per share. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a 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 36.66%.

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.