HBK Sorce Advisory LLC Trims Stock Position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

HBK Sorce Advisory LLC cut its stake in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 12.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,867 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 1,888 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $532,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Erste Asset Management GmbH raised its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 42,957 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,624,000 after buying an additional 4,680 shares during the last quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. purchased a new stake in shares of Schlumberger in the fourth quarter valued at about $5,043,000. Tredje AP fonden raised its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 79.2% in the fourth quarter. Tredje AP fonden now owns 189,988 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $7,284,000 after buying an additional 83,988 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 196.9% during the fourth quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 2,312,304 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $88,654,000 after acquiring an additional 1,533,366 shares during the period. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 36.3% during the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 82,740 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,172,000 after acquiring an additional 22,022 shares during the period. 81.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on SLB shares. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $61.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Atb Cap Markets lowered shares of Schlumberger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $57.00 price target on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI reissued an “in-line” rating and set a $44.00 price objective (down previously from $62.00) on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.81.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

NYSE:SLB opened at $41.10 on Friday. Schlumberger Limited has a fifty-two week low of $36.52 and a fifty-two week high of $55.69. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $40.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.52. The company has a market cap of $55.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.21, a P/E/G ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 21.90%. The company had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.86 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be given a $0.285 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 5th. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.77%. This is a positive change from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.66%.

Insider Activity at Schlumberger

In related news, Director Vijay Kasibhatla sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director now directly owns 49,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,179,204.30. This trade represents a 33.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Ugo Prechner sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.20, for a total transaction of $309,400.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 11,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $496,808. This represents a 38.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 290,772 shares of company stock valued at $12,546,660. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

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.