Covington Capital Management Increases Stake in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Covington Capital Management lifted its stake in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB – Get Rating) by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,863 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 393 shares during the quarter. Covington Capital Management’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $175,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SLB. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Schlumberger in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in Schlumberger by 35.3% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 39,287 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,623,000 after buying an additional 10,240 shares during the period. Dakota Wealth Management acquired a new position in Schlumberger in the 1st quarter worth approximately $232,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Schlumberger in the 1st quarter worth approximately $419,000. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Schlumberger by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 112,003 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,627,000 after buying an additional 3,209 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.22% of the company’s stock.

Schlumberger Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of SLB stock opened at $49.36 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $54.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.57, a PEG ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.77. Schlumberger Limited has a fifty-two week low of $30.65 and a fifty-two week high of $62.78.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 20th. The oil and gas company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $7.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.80 billion. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 18.51% and a net margin of 12.25%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.41 EPS. Research analysts expect that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.02 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 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 7th. This is a positive change from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Schlumberger’s payout ratio is currently 41.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SLB has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $62.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 25th. Raymond James initiated coverage on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Friday, December 9th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $65.00 price objective on the stock. Wolfe Research cut shares of Schlumberger from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 12th. StockNews.com cut shares of Schlumberger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Schlumberger currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $62.38.

Insider Transactions at Schlumberger

In other news, insider Gavin Rennick sold 20,000 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.10, for a total transaction of $1,082,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 64,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,483,661.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Dianne B. Ralston sold 10,493 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction on Friday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.52, for a total transaction of $551,092.36. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 23,379 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,227,865.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Gavin Rennick sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.10, for a total value of $1,082,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 64,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,483,661.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 269,696 shares of company stock worth $15,227,195 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

About Schlumberger

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Schlumberger NV engages in the provision of technology for reservoir characterization, drilling, production, and processing to the oil and gas industry. It operates through the following business segments: Digital and Integration, Reservoir Performance, Well Construction, and Production Systems. The Digital and Integration segment combines the company’s digital solutions and data products with its Asset Performance Solutions (APS).