Meritage Portfolio Management Sells 385 Shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Meritage Portfolio Management trimmed its stake in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,900 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 385 shares during the quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $723,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SLB. Highland Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Schlumberger by 2,494.0% in the fourth quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 101,426 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $5,278,000 after purchasing an additional 97,516 shares during the last quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD lifted its position in shares of Schlumberger by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 331,309 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $19,468,000 after buying an additional 965 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of Schlumberger by 36.4% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,424,625 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $74,080,000 after buying an additional 380,185 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in shares of Schlumberger by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 5,557 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $324,000 after buying an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Schlumberger by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 607,312 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $31,726,000 after buying an additional 35,763 shares during the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on SLB shares. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 price target on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Monday. HSBC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $71.00 price objective on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Schlumberger from $66.00 to $64.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $64.00 price objective on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.67.

Schlumberger Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE SLB traded down $0.12 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $49.32. The stock had a trading volume of 4,738,702 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,140,355. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $51.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $52.23. Schlumberger Limited has a 52-week low of $42.73 and a 52-week high of $62.12. The firm has a market cap of $70.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.43, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.60.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The oil and gas company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.75. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.72% and a return on equity of 21.88%. The company had revenue of $8.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.63 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 5th will be paid a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 5th. This is a positive change from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.23%. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.54%.

Insider Activity at Schlumberger

In related news, CFO Stephane Biguet sold 6,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.78, for a total value of $329,875.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 249,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,151,825.96. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Schlumberger news, insider Gavin Rennick sold 20,045 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.77, for a total value of $977,594.65. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 77,563 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,782,747.51. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Stephane Biguet sold 6,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.78, for a total transaction of $329,875.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 249,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,151,825.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 90,545 shares of company stock valued at $4,458,430. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Schlumberger Company 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.