Allstate Corp Acquires New Position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Allstate Corp bought a new position in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 42,256 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,620,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SLB. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 156,698 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its holdings 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 valued at $3,223,000 after acquiring an additional 16,350 shares during the period. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Schlumberger by 502.6% in the fourth quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 198,024 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $7,592,000 after acquiring an additional 165,162 shares in the last quarter. Narwhal Capital Management boosted its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 225.5% in the fourth quarter. Narwhal Capital Management now owns 74,645 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,862,000 after acquiring an additional 51,715 shares during the period. Finally, Czech National Bank grew its position in shares of Schlumberger by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 306,183 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $11,739,000 after purchasing an additional 16,914 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Schlumberger Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:SLB opened at $41.87 on Monday. Schlumberger Limited has a 1 year low of $36.52 and a 1 year high of $55.65. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.93 billion, a PE ratio of 13.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.47. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.24 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.86 EPS. Schlumberger’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.285 per share. This is a positive change from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 5th. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.72%. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Schlumberger

In other Schlumberger news, Director Vijay Kasibhatla sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was 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 directly owns 49,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,179,204.30. This represents a 33.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mogharbel Khaled Al sold 123,097 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.09, for a total value of $5,427,346.73. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 184,626 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,140,160.34. This represents a 40.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 290,772 shares of company stock valued at $12,546,660 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SLB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Schlumberger from $60.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $61.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Atb Cap Markets cut shares of Schlumberger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Griffin Securities lowered Schlumberger from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Schlumberger from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Schlumberger has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.69.

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.