Cidel Asset Management Inc. Boosts Stake in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Cidel Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 8.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 7,053 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 539 shares during the quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $270,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SLB. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 25.9% during the 3rd quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 761,875 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $31,961,000 after buying an additional 156,698 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its stake in Schlumberger by 27.0% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 76,838 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,223,000 after acquiring an additional 16,350 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Schlumberger by 8.7% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 817,771 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $34,305,000 after purchasing an additional 65,318 shares during the period. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 269.1% during the third quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 19,718 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $827,000 after purchasing an additional 14,376 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 26.0% during the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 307,040 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $12,880,000 after purchasing an additional 63,413 shares during the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SLB has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Schlumberger from $49.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Schlumberger to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $57.00 target price on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $61.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Schlumberger presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.81.

Insider Transactions at Schlumberger

In other news, insider Bejar Carmen Rando sold 5,524 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.41, for a total value of $223,224.84. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 30,829 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,245,799.89. This trade represents a 15.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.44, for a total transaction of $2,486,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 210,502 shares in the company, valued at $8,723,202.88. The trade was a 22.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 263,782 shares of company stock worth $11,442,229. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Schlumberger Price Performance

Shares of Schlumberger stock opened at $40.15 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Schlumberger Limited has a 52 week low of $36.52 and a 52 week high of $55.69. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $40.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.28. The company has a market capitalization of $56.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.91, a PEG ratio of 9.49 and a beta of 1.51.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.02. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. The company had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.24 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.86 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be given a dividend of $0.285 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 5th. This is an increase from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.84%. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio is 36.66%.

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.