Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Acquires 2,740 Shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its holdings in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 75,401 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,740 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $2,891,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Schlumberger during the fourth quarter valued at $735,398,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Schlumberger by 12,289.6% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 13,043,359 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $500,082,000 after buying an additional 12,938,082 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 196.9% during the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 2,312,304 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $88,654,000 after acquiring an additional 1,533,366 shares during the period. Boston Partners increased its holdings in Schlumberger by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 15,529,159 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $597,356,000 after acquiring an additional 1,405,186 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Scharf Investments LLC bought a new stake in Schlumberger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $52,607,000. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on SLB shares. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $60.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $60.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Evercore ISI reissued an “in-line” rating and set a $44.00 price target (down from $62.00) on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Schlumberger from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Schlumberger from $53.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Six equities 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.69.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SLB opened at $41.83 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.48. Schlumberger Limited has a 52 week low of $36.52 and a 52 week high of $55.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.45, a PEG ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.47.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $9.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.86 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be given a $0.285 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 2.73%. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.44, for a total value of $2,486,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 210,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,723,202.88. This trade represents a 22.18 % 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, insider Gavin Rennick sold 26,990 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.92, for a total transaction of $1,104,430.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 53,584 shares in the company, valued at $2,192,657.28. The trade was a 33.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 290,772 shares of company stock worth $12,546,660 over the last three months. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.