EHP Funds Inc. Takes $479,000 Position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

EHP Funds Inc. acquired a new position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 12,500 shares of the oil and gas company's stock, valued at approximately $479,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Colonial Trust Co SC grew its holdings in Schlumberger by 15.9% during the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 6,786 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $260,000 after buying an additional 930 shares in the last quarter. Concentric Capital Strategies LP boosted its position in shares of Schlumberger by 162.8% during the fourth quarter. Concentric Capital Strategies LP now owns 86,894 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $3,332,000 after acquiring an additional 53,824 shares during the last quarter. Corigliano Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Schlumberger during the fourth quarter valued at $11,797,000. Cornerstone Select Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Schlumberger in the 4th quarter valued at $496,000. Finally, Crestline Management LP purchased a new stake in Schlumberger in the 4th quarter worth $2,300,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.99% of the company's stock.

Schlumberger Trading Up 3.8%

SLB stock traded up $1.33 during trading on Monday, hitting $35.88. The company had a trading volume of 5,787,052 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,400,892. Schlumberger Limited has a 52-week low of $31.11 and a 52-week high of $50.94. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $37.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.53, a PEG ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.73 by ($0.01). Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. The company had revenue of $8.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.64 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.75 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be given a dividend of $0.285 per share. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 4th. Schlumberger's payout ratio is 38.64%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on SLB shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $57.00 price objective on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Schlumberger from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $46.00 to $44.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $53.00 to $48.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup boosted 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Schlumberger presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $53.32.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Aparna Raman sold 25,133 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.28, for a total value of $1,062,623.24. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 31,031 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,311,990.68. This represents a 44.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Gavin Rennick sold 26,990 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.92, for a total transaction of $1,104,430.80. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 53,584 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,192,657.28. The trade was a 33.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.