Merit Financial Group LLC Boosts Stock Position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) by 132.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 34,132 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after buying an additional 19,438 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Schlumberger were worth $1,427,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of SLB. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd boosted its position in shares of Schlumberger by 32.2% during the fourth quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 71,390 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $2,737,000 after buying an additional 17,405 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 29,985,360 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,146,195,000 after buying an additional 1,377,134 shares during the period. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Schlumberger by 502.6% in the 4th quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 198,024 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $7,592,000 after acquiring an additional 165,162 shares in the last quarter. Miller Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Schlumberger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $375,000. Finally, Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co raised its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 40.4% during the fourth quarter. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 220,685 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $8,461,000 after acquiring an additional 63,500 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SLB has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays dropped their price target on Schlumberger from $53.00 to $48.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $46.00 to $43.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on Schlumberger from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $60.00 to $59.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Schlumberger from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $52.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director La Chevardiere Patrick De sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.58, for a total value of $167,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,525 shares in the company, valued at $789,969.50. The trade was a 17.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Aparna Raman sold 25,133 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the insider now owns 31,031 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,311,990.68. This trade represents a 44.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

Schlumberger Trading Up 2.4%

Schlumberger stock traded up $0.79 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $33.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 10,406,499 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,496,162. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.11. Schlumberger Limited has a 12 month low of $31.11 and a 12 month high of $50.94. The stock has a market cap of $46.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.01. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $34.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.67.

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

Schlumberger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be given a dividend of $0.285 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.37%. Schlumberger's dividend payout ratio is 38.64%.

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.