John G Ullman & Associates Inc. Sells 29,000 Shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

John G Ullman & Associates Inc. decreased its position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 8.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 299,704 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 29,000 shares during the period. Schlumberger accounts for about 1.7% of John G Ullman & Associates Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. John G Ullman & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $11,491,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. now owns 5,300 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $203,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Jacobi Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 25.2% in the fourth quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 7,222 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 1,453 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 90,715 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,478,000 after purchasing an additional 11,809 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,785,902 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $68,472,000 after purchasing an additional 41,560 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,168,050 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $44,783,000 after purchasing an additional 8,232 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Schlumberger Price Performance

Shares of SLB opened at $41.63 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $40.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.81. The company has a market capitalization of $56.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.38, a P/E/G ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.45. Schlumberger Limited has a fifty-two week low of $36.52 and a fifty-two week high of $55.69.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.24 billion. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.86 EPS. Research analysts predict that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be given a dividend of $0.285 per share. This is an increase from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 5th. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.66%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Vijay Kasibhatla sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.94, for a total transaction of $1,098,500.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 49,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,179,204.30. This represents a 33.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.44, for a total transaction of $2,486,400.00. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 290,772 shares of company stock valued at $12,546,660. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on SLB. Griffin Securities lowered Schlumberger from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Evercore ISI restated an “in-line” rating and set a $44.00 target price (down previously from $62.00) on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Schlumberger from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays lowered their target price on Schlumberger from $61.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced 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. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.