Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Has $6.94 Million Stake in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 14.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 133,394 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,867 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $6,942,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BluePath Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Schlumberger during the third quarter worth $25,000. MCF Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 1,355.9% during the third quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 495 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 461 shares during the last quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Schlumberger in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 1,180.4% in the fourth quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 653 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 602 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. grew its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 64.3% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 746 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on SLB shares. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $66.00 to $64.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $68.00 price objective on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Monday. HSBC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $71.00 target price on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Susquehanna restated a “positive” rating and issued a $77.00 target price on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.67.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

NYSE SLB opened at $49.55 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $51.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $52.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.73 billion, a PE ratio of 16.46, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.60. Schlumberger Limited has a 1 year low of $42.73 and a 1 year high of $62.12.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The oil and gas company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.75. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.72% and a return on equity of 21.88%. The firm had revenue of $8.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.63 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 5th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.22%. This is a positive change from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.54%.

Insider Activity at Schlumberger

In related news, CFO Stephane Biguet sold 6,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.78, for a total transaction of $329,875.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 249,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,151,825.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Schlumberger news, VP Kevin Fyfe sold 20,223 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.05, for a total value of $1,052,607.15. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 31,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,623,855.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Stephane Biguet sold 6,250 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.78, for a total transaction of $329,875.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 249,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,151,825.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 110,768 shares of company stock valued at $5,511,037. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

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.