Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA Purchases New Position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 7,034 shares of the oil and gas company's stock, valued at approximately $266,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Grove Bank & Trust raised its holdings in Schlumberger by 17.4% during the 3rd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,514 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 224 shares during the period. M&R Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 1.7% during the third quarter. M&R Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,817 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $622,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares during the period. CX Institutional lifted its position in shares of Schlumberger by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. CX Institutional now owns 10,370 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $398,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in Schlumberger by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC now owns 6,701 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $281,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares during the period. Finally, Cordatus Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Schlumberger by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Cordatus Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,383 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $561,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares in the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

Shares of SLB traded down $0.81 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $40.21. The company's stock had a trading volume of 13,101,326 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,117,565. Schlumberger Limited has a one year low of $36.52 and a one year high of $55.69. The stock's 50-day moving average is $40.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.32 billion, a PE ratio of 12.93, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 posted its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.24 billion. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 21.90%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.86 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be issued a $0.285 dividend. 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.84%. Schlumberger's dividend payout ratio is 35.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on SLB. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Schlumberger from $60.00 to $59.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Atb Cap Markets downgraded Schlumberger from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Schlumberger from $53.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $55.81.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Bejar Carmen Rando sold 5,524 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.41, for a total value 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. This represents a 15.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 210,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,723,202.88. This trade represents a 22.18 % 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 worth $11,442,229. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.