Versant Capital Management Inc Purchases 745 Shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 98.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,498 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 745 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $57,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Schlumberger by 8.0% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,487,067 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $188,232,000 after purchasing an additional 332,500 shares during the period. Syntax Research Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Schlumberger in the 3rd quarter worth about $3,491,000. Copley Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Schlumberger in the 3rd quarter worth about $515,000. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp boosted its stake in Schlumberger by 15.0% during the third quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 268,008 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $11,244,000 after acquiring an additional 34,861 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp grew its holdings in Schlumberger by 30.2% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 109,717 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,603,000 after purchasing an additional 25,465 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Schlumberger Stock Up 0.5 %

SLB stock opened at $38.59 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $41.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.32. The company has a market cap of $54.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.52. Schlumberger Limited has a fifty-two week low of $36.52 and a fifty-two week high of $55.69. 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 (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, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.01. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.44% and a return on equity of 21.84%. The firm had revenue of $9.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.78 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Schlumberger Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 4th will be paid a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 4th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.85%. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on SLB shares. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Schlumberger in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $47.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America dropped their target price on Schlumberger from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 14th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Schlumberger from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $49.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Schlumberger to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $58.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.90, for a total value of $2,514,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 211,937 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,880,160.30. This represents a 22.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Schlumberger

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.