WealthTrust Axiom LLC Purchases 40,260 Shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

WealthTrust Axiom LLC raised its position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 46.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 127,433 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 40,260 shares during the quarter. Schlumberger accounts for approximately 1.5% of WealthTrust Axiom LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest holding. WealthTrust Axiom LLC’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $4,886,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in Schlumberger during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $232,000. Bard Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Schlumberger during the third quarter worth $229,000. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Schlumberger by 5.8% in the third quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 16,965 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $712,000 after purchasing an additional 936 shares in the last quarter. Sfmg LLC increased its stake in Schlumberger by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 88,398 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,708,000 after buying an additional 3,478 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its position in Schlumberger by 27.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 76,838 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,223,000 after buying an additional 16,350 shares in the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Schlumberger news, Director Vijay Kasibhatla sold 25,000 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.94, for a total value of $1,098,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 49,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,179,204.30. The trade was a 33.51 % decrease in their position. 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 stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.09, for a total value of $5,427,346.73. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 184,626 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,140,160.34. This trade represents a 40.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 315,905 shares of company stock worth $13,609,283. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SLB has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Schlumberger from $60.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Barclays lowered their price target on Schlumberger from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Griffin Securities downgraded Schlumberger from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $60.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.68.

Schlumberger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SLB opened at $33.94 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $39.99 and its 200-day moving average is $41.03. The firm has a market cap of $46.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.11. Schlumberger Limited has a 1-year low of $31.11 and a 1-year high of $54.63. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $9.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.86 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th were given a dividend of $0.285 per share. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 5th. This is a positive change from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.66%.

Schlumberger 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.