Applied Finance Capital Management LLC Makes New Investment in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Applied Finance Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 19,738 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $757,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capula Management Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Schlumberger in the 4th quarter valued at $1,437,000. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its holdings in Schlumberger by 817.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 1,694,494 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $64,967,000 after buying an additional 1,509,852 shares during the last quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Schlumberger during the 4th quarter worth about $1,472,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,377,240 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $282,843,000 after acquiring an additional 596,008 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Employees Retirement System of Texas lifted its stake in Schlumberger by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas now owns 1,591,235 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $591,533,000 after purchasing an additional 41,129 shares during the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Vijay Kasibhatla sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at $2,179,204.30. This represents a 33.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Ugo Prechner sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.20, for a total value of $309,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 11,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $496,808. The trade was a 38.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 315,905 shares of company stock worth $13,609,283. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on SLB. Atb Cap Markets cut shares of Schlumberger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Evercore ISI reiterated an “in-line” rating and set a $44.00 target price (down previously from $62.00) on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Schlumberger in a report on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $47.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Schlumberger from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $54.68.

Schlumberger Stock Down 3.5 %

Shares of Schlumberger stock opened at $31.98 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $43.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.28, a PEG ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.11. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $40.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.24. 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 one year low of $31.42 and a one year high of $54.63.

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. 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 period in the prior year, the company posted $0.86 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 5th were issued a dividend of $0.285 per share. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.57%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 5th. This is a positive change from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.