Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Acquires 22,710 Shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) by 26.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 107,170 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 22,710 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Schlumberger were worth $4,496,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. ORG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Schlumberger by 393.5% during the 3rd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 607 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 484 shares during the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 392 shares during the period. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Schlumberger during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Riverview Trust Co increased its holdings in Schlumberger by 90.6% in the second quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 648 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Community Trust NA increased its stake in Schlumberger by 264.0% in the 2nd quarter. First Community Trust NA now owns 728 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 528 shares in the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Schlumberger

In other Schlumberger news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.90, for a total value of $2,514,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 211,937 shares in the company, valued at $8,880,160.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Schlumberger Price Performance

Shares of SLB traded down $0.74 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $43.59. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,715,082 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,289,707. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.02, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.52. Schlumberger Limited has a fifty-two week low of $38.66 and a fifty-two week high of $55.69. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $42.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.12.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The oil and gas company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.01. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.44% and a return on equity of 21.84%. The company had revenue of $9.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.27 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.78 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 4th will be given a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 4th. Schlumberger's payout ratio is presently 35.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SLB has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 target price (down previously from $62.00) on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Monday, October 21st. Barclays cut their price objective on Schlumberger from $67.00 to $63.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $68.00 price target on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $64.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price objective on Schlumberger from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $60.97.

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.