Salem Investment Counselors Inc. Cuts Stake in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. decreased its holdings in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 14.7% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,217 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 383 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $122,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Schlumberger by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 132,281,480 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $6,883,928,000 after buying an additional 1,753,108 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Schlumberger by 12.9% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 75,379,848 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,922,768,000 after purchasing an additional 8,617,971 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in Schlumberger by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 51,617,471 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,686,173,000 after purchasing an additional 1,133,686 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Schlumberger in the 4th quarter worth $1,000,292,000. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in Schlumberger by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 15,790,074 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $920,561,000 after purchasing an additional 292,817 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Schlumberger

In other news, CTO Demosthenis Pafitis sold 63,095 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.26, for a total value of $3,044,964.70. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 33,421 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,612,897.46. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Schlumberger news, CTO Demosthenis Pafitis sold 63,095 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.26, for a total transaction of $3,044,964.70. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 33,421 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,612,897.46. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bejar Carmen Rando sold 4,980 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.43, for a total transaction of $216,281.40. Following the sale, the insider now owns 22,518 shares in the company, valued at approximately $977,956.74. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 106,158 shares of company stock worth $5,099,893 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SLB has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $74.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $64.00 price target on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Schlumberger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. Finally, HSBC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $71.00 price objective on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.06.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SLB opened at $45.66 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $47.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $49.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company has a market cap of $65.26 billion, a PE ratio of 15.17, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.57. Schlumberger Limited has a 52-week low of $42.61 and a 52-week high of $62.12.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The oil and gas company reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75. The firm had revenue of $8.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.70 billion. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.72% and a return on equity of 21.88%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.63 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.51 EPS for the current year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 5th will be paid a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 5th. This is a boost from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio is 36.54%.

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.