First Trust Advisors LP Boosts Stake in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) by 106.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,360,818 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 700,412 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.10% of Schlumberger worth $52,174,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GeoWealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Schlumberger by 106.4% during the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 9,001 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $345,000 after acquiring an additional 4,641 shares during the period. Capital International Ltd. CA boosted its position in shares of Schlumberger by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Ltd. CA now owns 208,504 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $7,994,000 after acquiring an additional 19,089 shares during the last quarter. Cadence Bank grew its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 17.9% during the fourth quarter. Cadence Bank now owns 172,823 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $6,626,000 after purchasing an additional 26,272 shares in the last quarter. Capital Group Investment Management PTE. LTD. raised its stake in Schlumberger by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital Group Investment Management PTE. LTD. now owns 63,795 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $2,446,000 after purchasing an additional 3,950 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors lifted its position in Schlumberger by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 6,159,708 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $236,014,000 after purchasing an additional 82,882 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.99% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Schlumberger

In other news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.44, for a total transaction of $2,486,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 210,502 shares in the company, valued at $8,723,202.88. This trade represents a 22.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Bejar Carmen Rando sold 5,524 shares of the company's 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. The trade was a 15.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 117,647 shares of company stock valued at $4,876,679. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

Schlumberger Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of SLB traded down $0.40 on Friday, reaching $34.53. The stock had a trading volume of 23,935,960 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,192,140. 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 12-month low of $31.11 and a 12-month high of $50.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.42.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.02). Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 21.90%. The business had revenue of $8.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.75 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SLB has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Schlumberger from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $46.00 to $44.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $60.00 to $59.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Evercore ISI reissued an "in-line" rating and issued a $44.00 price target (down from $62.00) on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their target price on Schlumberger from $55.00 to $48.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Five 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, Schlumberger has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $53.85.

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.