Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc Increases Stock Position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc grew its stake in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 67,161 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 309 shares during the period. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $2,774,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Schlumberger during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of Schlumberger during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Schlumberger during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Schlumberger during the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Schlumberger during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. 81.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SLB has been the subject of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $53.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. 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. Griffin Securities cut shares of Schlumberger from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $49.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.81.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Vijay Kasibhatla sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now owns 49,595 shares in the company, valued at $2,179,204.30. This represents a 33.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Dianne B. Ralston sold 43,161 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.96, for a total transaction of $1,897,357.56. Following the sale, the insider now owns 235,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,331,655.04. This trade represents a 15.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 263,782 shares of company stock worth $11,442,229. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

Shares of Schlumberger stock opened at $41.73 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $58.45 billion, a PE ratio of 13.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.51. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $40.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.45. Schlumberger Limited has a 1 year low of $36.52 and a 1 year high of $55.69.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.24 billion. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 21.90%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.86 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 5th. This is a positive change from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio is 36.66%.

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.