Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) Stock Holdings Increased by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 12.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,103,715 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 915,925 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned about 0.58% of Schlumberger worth $310,696,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ORG Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Schlumberger by 393.5% during the third quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 607 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 484 shares during the period. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Schlumberger in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in Schlumberger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Schlumberger during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Schlumberger in the third quarter valued at $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Schlumberger Price Performance

NYSE:SLB opened at $41.45 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.45. The company has a 50-day moving average of $40.09 and a 200-day moving average of $42.09. Schlumberger Limited has a 52 week low of $36.52 and a 52 week high of $55.69. The company has a market capitalization of $58.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.33, a PEG ratio of 9.49 and a beta of 1.51.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 analysts’ expectations of $9.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.86 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be paid a $0.285 dividend. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 5th. This is a positive change from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on SLB. Barclays lowered their price target on Schlumberger from $61.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Schlumberger from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Schlumberger to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $49.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $60.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.81.

Insider Transactions at Schlumberger

In other news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 210,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,723,202.88. This represents a 22.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Dianne B. Ralston sold 43,161 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.96, for a total transaction of $1,897,357.56. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 235,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,331,655.04. This represents a 15.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 263,782 shares of company stock worth $11,442,229 in the last quarter. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.