Founders Capital Management Cuts Stock Position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Founders Capital Management cut its holdings in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 12.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 38,396 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 5,503 shares during the quarter. Schlumberger accounts for approximately 0.9% of Founders Capital Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Founders Capital Management’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $1,472,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Schlumberger by 50.7% in the second quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,133 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $289,000 after acquiring an additional 2,063 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Schlumberger by 10.4% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 927,875 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $43,777,000 after purchasing an additional 87,236 shares during the last quarter. Lyell Wealth Management LP grew its holdings in Schlumberger by 15.0% during the second quarter. Lyell Wealth Management LP now owns 220,214 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $10,390,000 after purchasing an additional 28,799 shares during the period. Mystic Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Schlumberger by 4.7% in the second quarter. Mystic Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,773 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $414,000 after buying an additional 395 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd raised its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 186.7% in the second quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 93,115 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,393,000 after buying an additional 60,640 shares during the period. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Schlumberger

In related news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.90, for a total value of $2,514,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 211,937 shares in the company, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Schlumberger Price Performance

Shares of SLB stock traded up $0.91 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $39.53. The company had a trading volume of 6,386,884 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,334,441. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $40.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.05. Schlumberger Limited has a 52-week low of $36.52 and a 52-week high of $55.69. The company has a market capitalization of $55.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.52.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last announced its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $9.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.27 billion. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.44% and a return on equity of 21.84%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.78 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Schlumberger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 4th were paid a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 4th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.78%. Schlumberger’s payout ratio is currently 35.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SLB has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Schlumberger from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $55.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Dbs Bank initiated coverage on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $64.50 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on Schlumberger from $53.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Schlumberger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.58.

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.