Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC Purchases Shares of 336,426 Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 336,426 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,898,000. Schlumberger comprises approximately 0.9% of Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $500,082,000 after acquiring an additional 12,938,082 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in Schlumberger by 20.6% in 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 valued at $470,425,000 after purchasing an additional 1,916,851 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in Schlumberger by 196.9% in the fourth quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 2,312,304 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $88,654,000 after purchasing an additional 1,533,366 shares in the last quarter. Scharf Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Schlumberger during the fourth quarter worth $52,607,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Schlumberger in the fourth quarter valued at $48,461,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on SLB shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Schlumberger from $60.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 23rd. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $61.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Schlumberger from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Schlumberger from $53.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Six equities research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.81.

Schlumberger Stock Up 2.9 %

Shares of NYSE SLB opened at $41.10 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $40.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.49. 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 stock has a market cap of $55.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.21, a P/E/G ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.47. Schlumberger Limited has a 52-week low of $36.52 and a 52-week high of $55.69.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last announced its quarterly 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.24 billion. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 21.90%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.86 EPS. Analysts expect that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be given a dividend of $0.285 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 5th. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.77%. This is a positive change from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.66%.

Insider Activity

In other Schlumberger news, insider Bejar Carmen Rando sold 5,524 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.41, for a total transaction of $223,224.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 30,829 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,245,799.89. This represents a 15.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Ugo Prechner sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.20, for a total value of $309,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 11,240 shares in the company, valued at approximately $496,808. This trade represents a 38.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 290,772 shares of company stock worth $12,546,660 in the last 90 days. Corporate 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.