Kovack Advisors Inc. Has $1.44 Million Stock Holdings in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Kovack Advisors Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 18.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,440 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 8,203 shares during the quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $1,435,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SLB. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Schlumberger in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in Schlumberger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Schlumberger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Schlumberger in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Schlumberger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Schlumberger

In other Schlumberger news, Director Vijay Kasibhatla sold 25,000 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.94, for a total value of $1,098,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 49,595 shares in the company, valued at $2,179,204.30. The trade was a 33.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Gavin Rennick sold 26,990 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.92, for a total transaction of $1,104,430.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 53,584 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,192,657.28. This trade represents a 33.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 290,772 shares of company stock worth $12,546,660. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

Shares of SLB opened at $40.53 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $40.33 and a 200-day moving average of $41.85. Schlumberger Limited has a one year low of $36.52 and a one year high of $55.69. The company has a market cap of $55.11 billion, a PE ratio of 13.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 EPS 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 company had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.86 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 5th. This is a boost from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.66%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on SLB. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Schlumberger from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $57.00 price objective on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Griffin Securities lowered shares of Schlumberger from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $61.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.81.

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.