Brandes Investment Partners LP Increases Stock Position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Brandes Investment Partners LP boosted its stake in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 58.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,029,034 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 379,967 shares during the quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP owned about 0.07% of Schlumberger worth $39,453,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Schlumberger in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Schlumberger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Schlumberger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Schlumberger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Schlumberger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. 81.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $61.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Griffin Securities cut shares of Schlumberger from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $49.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Atb Cap Markets cut shares of Schlumberger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Six research 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.81.

Insider Transactions at Schlumberger

In other news, insider Gavin Rennick sold 26,990 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.92, for a total value of $1,104,430.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 53,584 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,192,657.28. The trade was a 33.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the business’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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 210,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,723,202.88. This trade represents a 22.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 290,772 shares of company stock valued at $12,546,660 in the last quarter. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

Shares of Schlumberger stock opened at $41.10 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The firm has a market capitalization 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.52. Schlumberger Limited has a 12 month low of $36.52 and a 12 month 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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.24 billion. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. Schlumberger’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.86 EPS. On average, 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 declared 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. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 5th. This is a positive change from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Schlumberger’s payout ratio is currently 36.66%.

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.