Benjamin Edwards Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 315.2% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 32,673 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 24,803 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $1,371,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SLB. ORG Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Schlumberger by 393.5% in the third quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 607 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 484 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Schlumberger by 204.2% in the 2nd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 584 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 392 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Schlumberger during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Schlumberger in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 90.6% in the second quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 648 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Schlumberger from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $67.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $74.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Schlumberger from $53.00 to $49.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.97.

Schlumberger Stock Down 1.7 %

Schlumberger stock opened at $42.02 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $59.34 billion, a PE ratio of 13.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.48. Schlumberger Limited has a fifty-two week low of $38.66 and a fifty-two week high of $55.69. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $43.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.26.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The oil and gas company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.01. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.84% and a net margin of 12.44%. The business had revenue of $9.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.78 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Schlumberger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 4th will be given a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 4th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.62%. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.37%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.90, for a total value of $2,514,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 211,937 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,880,160.30. This trade represents a 22.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

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.