Highland Capital Management LLC Has $6.56 Million Stock Holdings in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Highland Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) by 9.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 171,065 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 17,864 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC's holdings in Schlumberger were worth $6,559,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Schlumberger Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE SLB traded up $0.03 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $40.97. The stock had a trading volume of 6,953,980 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,200,987. The company has a market capitalization of $57.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.23, a P/E/G ratio of 9.98 and a beta of 1.52. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $40.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.65. 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 52 week low of $36.52 and a 52 week high of $55.69.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.02. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 21.90%. The company had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.86 EPS. Schlumberger's quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.78%. This is a boost from Schlumberger's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Schlumberger's payout ratio is currently 35.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $57.00 price target on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $49.00 to $46.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Bank of America cut their price objective on Schlumberger from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Griffin Securities lowered Schlumberger from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Schlumberger from $53.00 to $48.00 in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Schlumberger has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $55.81.

Insider Transactions at Schlumberger

In other news, Director Vijay Kasibhatla sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.94, for a total value of $1,098,500.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 49,595 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,179,204.30. This trade represents a 33.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.44, for a total value of $2,486,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 210,502 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,723,202.88. This represents a 22.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 258,258 shares of company stock worth $11,219,004. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.