Principal Securities Inc. Sells 5,189 Shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Principal Securities Inc. reduced its position in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 47.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,744 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 5,189 shares during the quarter. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $220,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CX Institutional increased its position in Schlumberger by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. CX Institutional now owns 10,370 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $398,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the period. GM Advisory Group LLC grew its position in Schlumberger by 3.8% during 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 purchasing an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Schlumberger by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 56,714 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,174,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Cordatus Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Schlumberger by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Cordatus Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,383 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $561,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Schlumberger by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 40,715 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,708,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares during the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Schlumberger

In related news, VP Ugo Prechner sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.20, for a total value of $309,400.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 11,240 shares in the company, valued at $496,808. This represents a 38.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Vijay Kasibhatla sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.94, for a total value of $1,098,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 49,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,179,204.30. This represents a 33.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 263,782 shares of company stock worth $11,442,229 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on SLB. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $57.00 target price on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective 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. Finally, Evercore ISI reissued an “in-line” rating and issued a $44.00 target price (down from $62.00) on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.81.

Schlumberger Stock Down 2.1 %

NYSE:SLB opened at $41.73 on Monday. Schlumberger Limited has a twelve month low of $36.52 and a twelve month high of $55.69. The company has a market cap of $58.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.51. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $9.28 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.86 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be paid a $0.285 dividend. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 5th. This is a positive change from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Schlumberger’s payout ratio is 36.66%.

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.