Alberta Investment Management Corp Purchases 47,920 Shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Alberta Investment Management Corp increased its position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) by 72.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 113,820 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 47,920 shares during the quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp's holdings in Schlumberger were worth $4,364,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Schlumberger during the third quarter worth $29,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new position in Schlumberger during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Schlumberger during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Schlumberger in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Schlumberger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 81.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on SLB shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $60.00 to $59.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Schlumberger from $49.00 to $46.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays decreased their target price on Schlumberger from $61.00 to $53.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Schlumberger from $53.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $55.81.

Insider Activity at Schlumberger

In related news, VP Ugo Prechner sold 7,000 shares of Schlumberger 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 completion of the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bejar Carmen Rando sold 5,524 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.41, for a total value of $223,224.84. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 30,829 shares in the company, valued at $1,245,799.89. This represents a 15.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 263,782 shares of company stock valued at $11,442,229. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Schlumberger Stock Down 2.1 %

NYSE:SLB traded down $0.87 on Friday, hitting $41.73. 13,669,641 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,156,785. The company has a market cap of $58.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.00 and a beta of 1.51. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $40.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.92. 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 Limited has a 52 week low of $36.52 and a 52 week high of $55.69.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.02. The business 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%. Schlumberger's revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.86 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be issued a $0.285 dividend. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 5th. This is an increase from Schlumberger's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Schlumberger's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.66%.

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.