Ashburton Jersey Ltd Decreases Stake in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Ashburton Jersey Ltd trimmed its position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) by 60.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 90,963 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 141,287 shares during the quarter. Schlumberger makes up approximately 1.5% of Ashburton Jersey Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Ashburton Jersey Ltd's holdings in Schlumberger were worth $3,488,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SLB. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Schlumberger in the fourth quarter worth about $735,398,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 12,289.6% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 13,043,359 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $500,082,000 after purchasing an additional 12,938,082 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Schlumberger by 43,028.0% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 2,652,804 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $101,708,000 after purchasing an additional 2,646,653 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 15,396,967 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $590,320,000 after buying an additional 1,700,203 shares during the period. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in Schlumberger by 196.9% during the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 2,312,304 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $88,654,000 after purchasing an additional 1,533,366 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.99% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Ugo Prechner sold 7,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 11,240 shares of the company's stock, 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Aparna Raman sold 25,133 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.28, for a total transaction of $1,062,623.24. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 31,031 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,311,990.68. The trade was a 44.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 315,905 shares of company stock worth $13,609,283 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

Schlumberger Trading Up 2.8 %

Schlumberger stock traded up $0.90 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $33.44. The company's stock had a trading volume of 10,407,068 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,934,689. The stock's fifty day moving average is $40.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.47 billion, a PE ratio of 10.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.11. Schlumberger Limited has a 1 year low of $31.11 and a 1 year high of $54.63.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $9.28 billion for 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%. Schlumberger's revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.86 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th were given a $0.285 dividend. This is a positive change from Schlumberger's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 5th. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.41%. Schlumberger's payout ratio is presently 36.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SLB has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 31st. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $53.00 to $48.00 in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Schlumberger from $60.00 to $59.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an "in-line" rating and set a $44.00 target price (down from $62.00) on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Schlumberger from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $54.68.

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.