Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) Shares Sold by South Dakota Investment Council

South Dakota Investment Council lowered its position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 324,229 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 8,600 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $16,873,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Schlumberger in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Schlumberger in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Schlumberger by 1,355.9% during the third quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 495 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 461 shares in the last quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Schlumberger by 1,180.4% during the fourth quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 653 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 602 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 64.3% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 746 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Schlumberger

In other Schlumberger news, CAO Howard Guild sold 22,853 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.66, for a total value of $1,180,585.98. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 22,181 shares in the company, valued at $1,145,870.46. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CAO Howard Guild sold 22,853 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.66, for a total transaction of $1,180,585.98. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 22,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,145,870.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Stephane Biguet sold 6,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.78, for a total value of $329,875.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 249,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,151,825.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 133,621 shares of company stock valued at $6,691,623. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on SLB. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $64.00 price target on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Schlumberger from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. HSBC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $71.00 price objective on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Schlumberger from $74.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Schlumberger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.67.

Schlumberger Stock Up 0.1 %

SLB stock traded up $0.04 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $49.55. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 11,135,591 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,276,809. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Schlumberger Limited has a 12 month low of $42.73 and a 12 month high of $62.12. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $51.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $52.28. The company has a market capitalization of $70.73 billion, a PE ratio of 16.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.60.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The oil and gas company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.88% and a net margin of 12.72%. The business had revenue of $8.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.70 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.63 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.275 per share. This is a positive change from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 5th. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.54%.

About Schlumberger

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.