Ashton Thomas Securities LLC Takes Position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 880 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Schlumberger by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 134,150,168 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $7,352,771,000 after purchasing an additional 1,868,688 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its position in shares of Schlumberger by 72.3% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 88,950,956 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,875,402,000 after buying an additional 37,333,485 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Schlumberger by 14.1% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 85,986,039 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,712,897,000 after buying an additional 10,606,191 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 14.0% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 12,686,384 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $598,544,000 after buying an additional 1,560,684 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners raised its position in Schlumberger by 35.8% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 11,640,827 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $635,883,000 after buying an additional 3,069,395 shares during the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

Shares of SLB stock opened at $43.59 on Thursday. Schlumberger Limited has a 52 week low of $38.66 and a 52 week high of $55.69. The company has a market capitalization of $61.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.02, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $44.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.48.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The oil and gas company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $9.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.27 billion. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.84% and a net margin of 12.44%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.78 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Schlumberger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 4th will be paid a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 4th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.52%. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.90, for a total transaction of $2,514,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 211,937 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,880,160.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SLB has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $63.00 to $57.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $60.00 to $56.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Dbs Bank started coverage on Schlumberger in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $64.50 price objective for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Schlumberger from $64.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.97.

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.