Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC Lowers Stock Position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 12.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 77,368 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 11,031 shares during the period. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $2,985,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. CX Institutional boosted its position in Schlumberger by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. CX Institutional now owns 10,370 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $398,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the period. TCW Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 19,797 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $759,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Schlumberger by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 56,714 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,174,000 after buying an additional 262 shares during the period. Cromwell Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 4,350 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $167,000 after buying an additional 283 shares during the period. Finally, Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. lifted its position in Schlumberger by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. now owns 14,775 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $566,000 after acquiring an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Schlumberger

In other Schlumberger news, Director Vijay Kasibhatla sold 25,000 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.94, for a total transaction of $1,098,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 49,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,179,204.30. The trade was a 33.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 210,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,723,202.88. The trade was a 22.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 290,772 shares of company stock worth $12,546,660. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Schlumberger Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE SLB opened at $42.30 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.45. Schlumberger Limited has a one year low of $36.52 and a one year high of $55.69. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.52 billion, a PE ratio of 13.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.47.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $9.28 billion during 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.86 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be paid a $0.285 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 5th. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.70%. This is a positive change from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SLB has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Atb Cap Markets lowered shares of Schlumberger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $49.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Griffin Securities cut shares of Schlumberger from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $57.00 target price on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Schlumberger from $53.00 to $48.00 in a report on Thursday, January 16th. 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.com, Schlumberger presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.