Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Lowers Stock Holdings in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA reduced its stake in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 99.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,407 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 1,000,704 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $207,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SLB. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Schlumberger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Schlumberger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Schlumberger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Schlumberger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Bogart Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 468.9% in the 4th quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 1,024 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 844 shares during the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on SLB. Wells Fargo & Company raised Schlumberger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $46.00 to $44.00 in a report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Schlumberger from $60.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Griffin Securities cut Schlumberger from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Evercore ISI reissued an “in-line” rating and issued a $44.00 price target (down from $62.00) on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Schlumberger from $60.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $54.68.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Schlumberger news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.44, for a total value of $2,486,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 210,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,723,202.88. This trade represents a 22.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Aparna Raman sold 25,133 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.28, for a total value of $1,062,623.24. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 31,031 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,311,990.68. The trade was a 44.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 315,905 shares of company stock valued at $13,609,283. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Schlumberger Stock Up 12.6 %

SLB opened at $35.99 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The firm has a market cap of $48.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.57, a PEG ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.11. Schlumberger Limited has a 52 week low of $31.11 and a 52 week high of $54.63. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.16.

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

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th were paid a $0.285 dividend. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.17%. This is a positive change from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 5th. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.66%.

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.