Clearbridge Investments LLC Purchases 2,646,653 Shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 43,028.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,652,804 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,646,653 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned approximately 0.19% of Schlumberger worth $101,708,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SLB. CX Institutional boosted its position in Schlumberger by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. CX Institutional now owns 10,370 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $398,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the period. TCW Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 1.3% during the 4th 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. boosted its holdings in Schlumberger by 0.5% in the 4th 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 period. Cromwell Holdings LLC grew its stake in Schlumberger by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 4,350 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $167,000 after buying an additional 283 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. raised its holdings in Schlumberger by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. now owns 14,775 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $566,000 after acquiring an additional 293 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SLB has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Schlumberger from $53.00 to $48.00 in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup raised their target price on Schlumberger from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Schlumberger from $49.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Evercore ISI restated an “in-line” rating and issued a $44.00 price objective (down from $62.00) on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased 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. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.69.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Ugo Prechner sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.20, for a total value of $309,400.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 11,240 shares in the company, valued at approximately $496,808. This trade represents a 38.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bejar Carmen Rando sold 5,524 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.41, for a total transaction of $223,224.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 30,829 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,245,799.89. The trade was a 15.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 290,772 shares of company stock worth $12,546,660 in the last 90 days. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Schlumberger Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of SLB stock opened at $41.83 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $41.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.48. Schlumberger Limited has a 12-month low of $36.52 and a 12-month high of $55.65. 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 $56.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.47.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.24 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.86 EPS. Schlumberger’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.285 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 5th. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.73%. This is a positive change from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.