Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Buys 4,952 Shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 185,853 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 4,952 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $7,126,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of SLB. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky increased its position in Schlumberger by 25.9% during the third quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 761,875 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $31,961,000 after acquiring an additional 156,698 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 27.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 76,838 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,223,000 after purchasing an additional 16,350 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Schlumberger by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 817,771 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $34,305,000 after purchasing an additional 65,318 shares during the last quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC raised its position in Schlumberger by 502.6% in the 4th quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 198,024 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $7,592,000 after purchasing an additional 165,162 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Schlumberger by 26.0% in the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 307,040 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $12,880,000 after purchasing an additional 63,413 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and set a $44.00 target price (down previously from $62.00) on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Piper Sandler started coverage on Schlumberger in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $47.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price 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. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Six research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.81.

Schlumberger Trading Down 2.6 %

Shares of NYSE:SLB opened at $40.09 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $54.51 billion, a PE ratio of 12.89, a P/E/G ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Schlumberger Limited has a 12-month low of $36.52 and a 12-month high of $55.69. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.57.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last posted its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.24 billion. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.86 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict 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 paid a dividend of $0.285 per share. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 5th. This is a positive change from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Schlumberger’s payout ratio is 36.66%.

Insider Activity at Schlumberger

In related news, VP Ugo Prechner sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.20, for a total transaction of $309,400.00. Following the transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Gavin Rennick sold 26,990 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.92, for a total value of $1,104,430.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 53,584 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,192,657.28. This represents a 33.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 290,772 shares of company stock valued at $12,546,660 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

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.