Hardy Reed LLC Boosts Stake in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Hardy Reed LLC raised its position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 23.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,000 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 1,328 shares during the period. Hardy Reed LLC’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $268,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 90,209,014 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,808,476,000 after purchasing an additional 528,279 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 28,608,226 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,195,290,000 after purchasing an additional 239,966 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased 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 increased 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. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 915,925 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Bejar Carmen Rando sold 5,524 shares of Schlumberger 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 transaction, the insider now owns 30,829 shares in the company, valued at $1,245,799.89. This trade represents a 15.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Ugo Prechner sold 7,000 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.20, for a total transaction of $309,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 11,240 shares in the company, valued at approximately $496,808. The trade was a 38.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 263,782 shares of company stock worth $11,442,229 in the last 90 days. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $49.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Schlumberger to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $47.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $61.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Six 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Schlumberger presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.81.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

NYSE SLB opened at $42.19 on Thursday. Schlumberger Limited has a 52-week low of $36.52 and a 52-week high of $55.69. 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 capitalization of $59.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.56, a P/E/G ratio of 10.11 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a fifty day moving average of $40.14 and a 200-day moving average of $41.92.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.24 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.86 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be given a $0.285 dividend. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 5th. This is a boost from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.66%.

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.