Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) Shares Sold by CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co cut its holdings in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 16.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,474,235 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 681,060 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $133,184,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of Schlumberger in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Schlumberger in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Schlumberger during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Schlumberger during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Bogart Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Schlumberger by 468.9% in the fourth quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 1,024 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 844 shares during the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

NYSE:SLB opened at $34.13 on Thursday. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $39.60 and a 200-day moving average of $40.88. Schlumberger Limited has a twelve month low of $31.11 and a twelve month high of $51.96. The firm has a market cap of $46.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.11.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $9.28 billion for 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 revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.86 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th were paid a dividend of $0.285 per share. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 5th. This is a boost from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Schlumberger’s payout ratio is 36.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Schlumberger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $46.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and set a $44.00 price target (down previously from $62.00) on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $57.00 price target on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Schlumberger from $60.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Schlumberger from $59.00 to $58.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $54.15.

Insider Buying and Selling at Schlumberger

In other news, VP Ugo Prechner sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 11,240 shares in the company, valued at approximately $496,808. The trade was a 38.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Vijay Kasibhatla sold 25,000 shares of the company’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,179,204.30. This trade represents a 33.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 315,905 shares of company stock worth $13,609,283. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.