Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) Shares Sold by Wesbanco Bank Inc.

Wesbanco Bank Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 7.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,777 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 710 shares during the period. Wesbanco Bank Inc.’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $337,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Schlumberger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $457,000. Missouri Trust & Investment Co raised its stake in Schlumberger by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co now owns 10,450 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $401,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Bourne Lent Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Schlumberger by 55.0% in the fourth quarter. Bourne Lent Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,450 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $324,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Schlumberger by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 290,924 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $11,234,000 after acquiring an additional 9,680 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Simon Quick Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 7,344 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $282,000 after purchasing an additional 396 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Schlumberger Stock Up 0.6 %

Schlumberger stock opened at $42.30 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $40.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.78. The company has a market cap of $59.73 billion, a PE ratio of 13.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.98 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.11. Schlumberger Limited has a 1-year low of $36.52 and a 1-year high of $55.69.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 21.90%. The business had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9,241,140 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.86 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.34 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.285 per share. This is an increase from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 5th. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on SLB. Griffin Securities cut Schlumberger from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Schlumberger from $60.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and issued a $44.00 target price (down from $62.00) on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Atb Cap Markets lowered shares of Schlumberger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Six equities 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 MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.81.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Mogharbel Khaled Al sold 123,097 shares of the company’s 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 $8,140,160.34. This represents a 40.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Vijay Kasibhatla sold 25,000 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now owns 49,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,179,204.30. This represents a 33.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 198,258 shares of company stock worth $8,732,604. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

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.