Viking Fund Management LLC Acquires 20,000 Shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Viking Fund Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 33.3% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 80,000 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,000 shares during the period. Viking Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $3,356,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 17.7% in the third quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 1,042,526 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $43,734,000 after buying an additional 156,492 shares in the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC grew its position in shares of Schlumberger by 54.6% in the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 3,441 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $144,000 after acquiring an additional 1,215 shares during the period. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA increased its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA now owns 39,278 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,648,000 after purchasing an additional 1,430 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 205.6% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 15,636 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $656,000 after purchasing an additional 10,520 shares during the period. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC lifted its stake in Schlumberger by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 137,990 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $5,789,000 after purchasing an additional 3,909 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Schlumberger Price Performance

NYSE SLB traded up $0.18 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $44.78. The company had a trading volume of 8,892,291 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,753,282. The company has a market capitalization of $63.58 billion, a PE ratio of 14.63, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.51. Schlumberger Limited has a twelve month low of $38.66 and a twelve month high of $61.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $43.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $46.42.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 19th. The oil and gas company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.02. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.56% and a return on equity of 21.92%. The business had revenue of $9.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.72 earnings per share. Schlumberger’s revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 4th were given a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 4th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.46%. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio is 35.95%.

Insider Activity at Schlumberger

In other Schlumberger news, CFO Stephane Biguet sold 50,048 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.94, for a total value of $2,499,397.12. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 203,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,141,615.44. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Schlumberger news, Director Vijay Kasibhatla sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.29, for a total value of $492,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 62,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,073,428.66. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Stephane Biguet sold 50,048 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.94, for a total value of $2,499,397.12. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 203,076 shares in the company, valued at $10,141,615.44. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 180,716 shares of company stock valued at $9,048,624 over the last three months. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on SLB shares. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Schlumberger from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $64.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 target price on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $65.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $63.42.

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.