Manning & Napier Advisors LLC Sells 11,521 Shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) by 3.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 373,188 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 11,521 shares during the quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC's holdings in Schlumberger were worth $14,308,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SLB. 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 bought a new position in Schlumberger during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Schlumberger during the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. raised 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 buying an additional 876 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J. Stern & Co. LLP bought a new stake in shares of Schlumberger in the 3rd quarter worth $47,000. Institutional investors own 81.99% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Schlumberger

In related news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.44, for a total value 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 approximately $8,723,202.88. This represents a 22.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Dianne B. Ralston sold 43,161 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.96, for a total value of $1,897,357.56. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 235,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,331,655.04. This trade represents a 15.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 263,782 shares of company stock valued at $11,442,229. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Schlumberger Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of SLB stock traded down $0.81 during trading on Friday, hitting $40.21. 13,101,326 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,117,565. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $40.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.58. Schlumberger Limited has a twelve month low of $36.52 and a twelve month high of $55.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.93, a P/E/G ratio of 9.70 and a beta of 1.52. 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 (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.86 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.285 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 5th. This is an increase from Schlumberger's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.84%. Schlumberger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on SLB. Citigroup lifted their target price on Schlumberger from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $60.00 to $56.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Schlumberger from $49.00 to $46.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $55.81.

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.