9,465 Shares in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) Purchased by Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C.

Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 9,465 shares of the oil and gas company's stock, valued at approximately $363,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. ORG Partners LLC raised its position in Schlumberger by 393.5% in the third quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 607 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 484 shares during the period. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Schlumberger in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Schlumberger during the third quarter valued at about $37,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 1,068.3% in the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 958 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 876 shares during the period. Finally, J. Stern & Co. LLP acquired a new position in shares of Schlumberger during the 3rd quarter valued at $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.99% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on SLB shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $57.00 target price on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Schlumberger from $60.00 to $59.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Schlumberger from $49.00 to $46.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Schlumberger from $53.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $60.00 to $56.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Schlumberger has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $55.81.

Schlumberger Price Performance

Shares of SLB traded down $0.61 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $40.41. 8,610,693 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,044,203. The company has a market cap of $56.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.00, a P/E/G ratio of 9.70 and a beta of 1.52. The firm's fifty day moving average is $40.58 and its 200 day moving average is $42.63. Schlumberger Limited has a fifty-two week low of $36.52 and a fifty-two week high of $55.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.24 billion. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. Schlumberger's revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.86 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be given a $0.285 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 5th. This is an increase from Schlumberger's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.82%. Schlumberger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.37%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.44, for a total transaction of $2,486,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 210,502 shares in the company, valued at $8,723,202.88. This represents a 22.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $309,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 258,258 shares of company stock valued at $11,219,004 in the last ninety days. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Schlumberger Company 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.