Capital Investment Counsel Inc Acquires 2,675 Shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Capital Investment Counsel Inc raised its holdings in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 22.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,696 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,675 shares during the quarter. Capital Investment Counsel Inc’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $563,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 4.8% during the third quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,874 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $372,000 after buying an additional 409 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of Schlumberger during the third quarter worth about $554,000. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 2.3% during the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 144,422 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $6,059,000 after purchasing an additional 3,227 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Schlumberger by 4,640.0% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 202,635 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $8,501,000 after acquiring an additional 198,360 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Great Lakes Retirement Inc. boosted its holdings in Schlumberger by 5.2% in the third quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. now owns 160,409 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $6,729,000 after acquiring an additional 7,858 shares during the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Schlumberger Price Performance

SLB stock opened at $42.58 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.65 billion, a PE ratio of 13.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.00 and a beta of 1.51. Schlumberger Limited has a 1 year low of $36.52 and a 1 year high of $55.69.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.24 billion. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.86 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 5th. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.68%. This is an increase from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.66%.

Insider Activity

In other Schlumberger news, Director Vijay Kasibhatla sold 25,000 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.94, for a total value of $1,098,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 49,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,179,204.30. The trade was a 33.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Ugo Prechner sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.20, for a total transaction of $309,400.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 11,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $496,808. This represents a 38.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 263,782 shares of company stock worth $11,442,229. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on SLB shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Schlumberger from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Schlumberger from $49.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Schlumberger from $61.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Schlumberger to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $57.00 price target on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Schlumberger currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.81.

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.