Stifel Financial Corp Grows Stock Position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Stifel Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 21.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,345,755 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 420,663 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $98,405,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. ORG Partners LLC raised its position in Schlumberger by 393.5% in the third quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 607 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 484 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC raised its holdings in Schlumberger by 204.2% in the 2nd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 584 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 392 shares during the period. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Schlumberger during the third quarter valued at $29,000. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Schlumberger during the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co increased its position in Schlumberger by 90.6% in the second quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 648 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Schlumberger

In other news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.90, for a total transaction of $2,514,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 211,937 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,880,160.30. This trade represents a 22.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on SLB shares. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Schlumberger to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price target (down previously from $62.00) on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Monday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Dbs Bank initiated coverage on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $64.50 target price on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $69.00 target price on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.97.

Schlumberger Price Performance

SLB stock opened at $42.02 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $44.26. Schlumberger Limited has a 52 week low of $38.66 and a 52 week high of $55.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.51.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The oil and gas company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.01. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.84% and a net margin of 12.44%. The company had revenue of $9.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.78 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 4th will be paid a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 4th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.62%. Schlumberger’s payout ratio is 35.37%.

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.