Stephens Inc. AR Acquires 11,474 Shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Stephens Inc. AR boosted its stake in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) by 81.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,509 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after acquiring an additional 11,474 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR's holdings in Schlumberger were worth $978,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its position in shares of Schlumberger by 25.9% during the third quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 761,875 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $31,961,000 after purchasing an additional 156,698 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its position in Schlumberger by 27.0% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 76,838 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $3,223,000 after buying an additional 16,350 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Schlumberger by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 817,771 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $34,305,000 after buying an additional 65,318 shares during the period. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 269.1% in the 3rd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 19,718 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $827,000 after acquiring an additional 14,376 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Schlumberger by 26.0% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 307,040 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $12,880,000 after acquiring an additional 63,413 shares during the period. 81.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Schlumberger

In related news, VP Ugo Prechner sold 7,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.20, for a total transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Vijay Kasibhatla sold 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.94, for a total transaction of $1,098,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 49,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,179,204.30. The trade was a 33.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 263,782 shares of company stock valued at $11,442,229 over the last ninety days. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

NYSE:SLB traded down $0.34 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $41.75. 12,223,889 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,414,117. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $40.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.96. The firm has a market cap of $58.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.49 and a beta of 1.51. Schlumberger Limited has a one year low of $36.52 and a one year high of $55.69.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 earnings per share (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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.24 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.86 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research 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. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.285 per share. This is a boost from Schlumberger's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. 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 2.73%. Schlumberger's payout ratio is 36.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SLB has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on Schlumberger from $60.00 to $56.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an "in-line" rating and issued a $44.00 price target (down previously from $62.00) on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Schlumberger to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $49.00 to $46.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $61.00 to $53.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.