Fiduciary Trust Co Acquires 11,714 Shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Fiduciary Trust Co boosted its holdings in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 25.8% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 57,084 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,714 shares during the period. Fiduciary Trust Co’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $2,395,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Schlumberger during the first quarter valued at approximately $252,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Schlumberger during the 1st quarter valued at $80,000. Atria Investments Inc grew its holdings in Schlumberger by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 73,617 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,034,000 after acquiring an additional 1,352 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in shares of Schlumberger by 233.0% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 216,385 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $11,860,000 after acquiring an additional 151,412 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 88.8% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 57,764 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,166,000 after acquiring an additional 27,171 shares during the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

Shares of SLB opened at $43.94 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The stock has a market cap of $62.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.52. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $42.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $44.41. Schlumberger Limited has a 52 week low of $38.66 and a 52 week high of $55.69.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The oil and gas company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.01. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.84% and a net margin of 12.44%. The business had revenue of $9.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.78 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 4th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.50%. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.37%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.90, for a total transaction of $2,514,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 211,937 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,880,160.30. This trade represents a 22.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on SLB. UBS Group cut their target price on Schlumberger from $63.00 to $57.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Schlumberger from $53.00 to $49.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Dbs Bank started coverage on Schlumberger in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $64.50 price target for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Schlumberger to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $67.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Schlumberger has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.97.

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.