Victory Capital Management Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 63.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,335,250 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 517,479 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $51,193,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. CX Institutional raised its position in shares of Schlumberger by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. CX Institutional now owns 10,370 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $398,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in Schlumberger by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC now owns 6,701 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $281,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. TCW Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 19,797 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $759,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the period. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 56,714 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,174,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cromwell Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Schlumberger by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 4,350 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $167,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares during the period. 81.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Schlumberger Trading Up 4.0 %

SLB opened at $41.36 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $40.73 and its 200-day moving average is $41.66. Schlumberger Limited has a 52-week low of $36.52 and a 52-week high of $55.69. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $56.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.30, a P/E/G 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.24 billion. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 21.90%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.86 EPS. Analysts expect that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be issued a $0.285 dividend. 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 2.76%. This is an increase from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.66%.

Insider Activity at Schlumberger

In related news, VP Ugo Prechner sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.20, for a total value of $309,400.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 11,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $496,808. This represents a 38.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Vijay Kasibhatla sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.94, for a total transaction of $1,098,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 49,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,179,204.30. This represents a 33.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 290,772 shares of company stock valued at $12,546,660. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on SLB shares. Evercore ISI reiterated an “in-line” rating and set a $44.00 target price (down from $62.00) on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Atb Cap Markets lowered shares of Schlumberger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $49.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Schlumberger to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Six 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus 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.