First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Decreases Stock Holdings in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. lessened its holdings in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 5.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,127 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 588 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $427,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. ORG Partners LLC lifted its position in Schlumberger by 393.5% during the 3rd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 607 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 484 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Schlumberger in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Schlumberger during the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. increased its stake in Schlumberger by 1,068.3% during 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 during the period. Finally, J. Stern & Co. LLP acquired a new position in Schlumberger in the 3rd quarter worth $47,000. 81.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Schlumberger Price Performance

NYSE:SLB opened at $42.55 on Tuesday. Schlumberger Limited has a 52-week low of $36.52 and a 52-week high of $55.69. 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 firm has a market cap of $60.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.68, a PEG ratio of 9.98 and a beta of 1.52. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $40.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.72.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9,241,140 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 in the prior year, the business earned $0.86 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be given a $0.285 dividend. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 5th. This is an increase from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio is 35.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Susquehanna dropped their target price on Schlumberger from $60.00 to $56.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Bank of America cut their target price on Schlumberger from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Atb Cap Markets downgraded shares of Schlumberger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $57.00 price target on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $60.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.81.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Mogharbel Khaled Al sold 123,097 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.09, for a total transaction of $5,427,346.73. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 184,626 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,140,160.34. This trade represents a 40.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Ugo Prechner sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.20, for a total value of $309,400.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 11,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $496,808. This trade represents a 38.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 198,258 shares of company stock valued at $8,732,604. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Schlumberger Company 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.