Van ECK Associates Corp Acquires 915,925 Shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 12.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,103,715 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 915,925 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $310,696,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SLB. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Schlumberger by 12,289.6% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 13,043,359 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $500,082,000 after acquiring an additional 12,938,082 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 20.6% during the third 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 period. Scharf Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Schlumberger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $52,607,000. Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new stake in Schlumberger in the 3rd quarter valued at $37,322,000. Finally, AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc bought a new position in Schlumberger during the 4th quarter worth $25,481,000. 81.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Schlumberger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SLB opened at $41.45 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.09. The company has a market cap of $58.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.33, a PEG ratio of 9.49 and a beta of 1.51. Schlumberger Limited has a one year low of $36.52 and a one year high of $55.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $9.28 billion during 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%. Schlumberger’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.86 EPS. 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.285 per share. This is a boost from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 5th. Schlumberger’s payout ratio is 36.66%.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 value of $309,400.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 11,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $496,808. The trade was a 38.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.44, for a total value of $2,486,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 210,502 shares in the company, valued at $8,723,202.88. The trade was a 22.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 263,782 shares of company stock valued at $11,442,229 over the last quarter. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Susquehanna reduced their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $60.00 to $56.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $57.00 target price on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Evercore ISI reiterated an “in-line” rating and issued a $44.00 price target (down from $62.00) on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Schlumberger in a report on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $47.00 price objective for the company. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.81.

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.