LPL Financial LLC Raises Stake in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 790,906 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 25,547 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $30,323,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Schlumberger by 0.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 90,209,014 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,808,476,000 after buying an additional 528,279 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Schlumberger by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 28,608,226 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,195,290,000 after purchasing an additional 239,966 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Schlumberger by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 27,836,555 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,067,254,000 after purchasing an additional 343,261 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its position in Schlumberger by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 15,529,159 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $597,356,000 after purchasing an additional 1,405,186 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Schlumberger by 12,289.6% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 13,043,359 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $500,082,000 after purchasing an additional 12,938,082 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Schlumberger Price Performance

Schlumberger stock opened at $41.87 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.45. The company has a market cap of $56.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.46, a PEG ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.47. Schlumberger Limited has a 1 year low of $36.52 and a 1 year high of $55.65. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $41.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.46.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 21.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. The business had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.24 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.86 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be issued a $0.285 dividend. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.72%. This is an increase from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 5th. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.66%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Ugo Prechner sold 7,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the vice president now owns 11,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $496,808. This trade represents a 38.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Bejar Carmen Rando sold 5,524 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.41, for a total value of $223,224.84. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 30,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,245,799.89. This represents a 15.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 290,772 shares of company stock valued at $12,546,660 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SLB has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup lifted their price target on Schlumberger from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $60.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Piper Sandler began coverage on Schlumberger in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $47.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI reissued 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.69.

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.