1,372,122 Shares in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) Acquired by Scharf Investments LLC

Scharf Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 1,372,122 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,607,000. Schlumberger comprises about 1.6% of Scharf Investments LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Schlumberger by 30.3% during the second quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,908 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $326,000 after purchasing an additional 1,606 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in shares of Schlumberger by 10.1% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 238,145 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $11,236,000 after buying an additional 21,760 shares during the period. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its holdings in Schlumberger by 113.6% in the third quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 115,615 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,850,000 after acquiring an additional 61,485 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank grew its position in Schlumberger by 6.2% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 289,269 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $12,135,000 after acquiring an additional 16,919 shares during the period. Finally, Bright Rock Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Schlumberger by 50.0% during the third quarter. Bright Rock Capital Management LLC now owns 150,000 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $6,292,000 after acquiring an additional 50,000 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Schlumberger news, EVP Mogharbel Khaled Al sold 123,097 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.09, for a total value of $5,427,346.73. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 184,626 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,140,160.34. This trade represents a 40.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 210,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,723,202.88. This trade represents a 22.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 263,782 shares of company stock worth $11,442,229. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Schlumberger Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE:SLB opened at $40.21 on Friday. Schlumberger Limited has a 12-month low of $36.52 and a 12-month high of $55.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The firm has a market cap of $56.32 billion, a PE ratio of 12.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.70 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.63.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last issued its earnings results 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 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 analyst estimates of $9.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.86 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be given a $0.285 dividend. This is a positive change from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 5th. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SLB. Atb Cap Markets lowered Schlumberger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Evercore ISI reissued an “in-line” rating and issued a $44.00 target price (down previously from $62.00) on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Schlumberger from $49.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.