Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Trims Holdings in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. trimmed its stake in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 13.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 58,708 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 9,084 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $2,251,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. ORG Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 393.5% in the 3rd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 607 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 484 shares during the period. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Schlumberger in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Schlumberger in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. raised its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 1,068.3% in the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 958 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 876 shares during the period. Finally, J. Stern & Co. LLP purchased a new stake in Schlumberger during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $47,000. 81.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Schlumberger Trading Up 6.1 %

Shares of Schlumberger stock opened at $43.58 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $61.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.01, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Schlumberger Limited has a 12-month low of $36.52 and a 12-month high of $55.69.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9,241,140 billion. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.44% and a return on equity of 21.84%. Schlumberger’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.86 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.285 per share. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.62%. This is a boost from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SLB has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $60.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $55.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $53.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Thursday. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and set a $44.00 target price (down from $62.00) on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $49.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Six equities 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Schlumberger presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $56.03.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Schlumberger news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 211,937 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,880,160.30. This represents a 22.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.