Howard Capital Management Inc. Has $352,000 Holdings in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Howard Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 6.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,177 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 578 shares during the quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $352,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CX Institutional boosted its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. CX Institutional now owns 10,370 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $398,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in Schlumberger by 3.8% during the third quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC now owns 6,701 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $281,000 after buying an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. TCW Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 19,797 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $759,000 after buying an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 56,714 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,174,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cordatus Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Cordatus Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,383 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $561,000 after acquiring an additional 281 shares in the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Schlumberger Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE SLB opened at $41.51 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Schlumberger Limited has a 12 month low of $36.52 and a 12 month high of $55.69. The company has a market capitalization of $56.45 billion, a PE ratio of 13.35, a P/E/G ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.51. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.87.

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

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be given a dividend of $0.285 per share. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.75%. This is a boost from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 5th. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.66%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.44, for a total value of $2,486,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 210,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,723,202.88. The trade was a 22.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Vijay Kasibhatla sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.94, for a total transaction of $1,098,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 49,595 shares in the company, valued at $2,179,204.30. This trade represents a 33.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 263,782 shares of company stock valued at $11,442,229 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on SLB shares. Griffin Securities downgraded Schlumberger from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Atb Cap Markets cut Schlumberger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $61.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $53.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.81.

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.