Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) Shares Sold by Freestone Capital Holdings LLC

Freestone Capital Holdings LLC reduced its position in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 17.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 39,205 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 8,062 shares during the quarter. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $1,503,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of SLB. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 12,289.6% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 13,043,359 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $500,082,000 after purchasing an additional 12,938,082 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 20.6% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 11,213,944 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $470,425,000 after purchasing an additional 1,916,851 shares during the last quarter. Scharf Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Schlumberger during the 4th quarter worth about $52,607,000. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 8,103,715 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $310,696,000 after acquiring an additional 915,925 shares during the period. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Schlumberger during the 3rd quarter worth about $37,322,000. 81.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Schlumberger Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE SLB opened at $39.75 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.69. Schlumberger Limited has a 52 week low of $36.52 and a 52 week high of $55.69. 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 stock has a market cap of $54.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.78, a PEG ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.47.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 EPS 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 $9.24 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.86 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Investors 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 2.87%. 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 36.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.44, for a total value of $2,486,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 210,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,723,202.88. The trade was a 22.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Vijay Kasibhatla sold 25,000 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.94, for a total transaction of $1,098,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 49,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,179,204.30. This trade represents a 33.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 290,772 shares of company stock worth $12,546,660. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SLB has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $53.00 to $48.00 in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Evercore ISI reiterated an “in-line” rating and set a $44.00 price objective (down from $62.00) on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $60.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $61.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.81.

About Schlumberger

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.