Salem Investment Counselors Inc. Has $490,000 Holdings in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) by 426.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,686 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,465 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.'s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $490,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Schlumberger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 584.7% during the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 986 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 842 shares in the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 468.9% in the 4th quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 1,024 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 844 shares during the last quarter. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Schlumberger during the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Schlumberger during the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.99% of the company's stock.

Schlumberger Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of Schlumberger stock traded up $0.23 on Tuesday, hitting $36.14. 16,166,036 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,575,528. The company has a fifty day moving average of $34.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.24. Schlumberger Limited has a one year low of $31.11 and a one year high of $50.94. The company has a market capitalization of $49.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.30 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.73 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $8.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.64 billion. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.76% and a net margin of 11.62%. Schlumberger's quarterly revenue was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.75 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Schlumberger Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be issued a $0.285 dividend. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 4th. Schlumberger's payout ratio is 38.64%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 stock was sold at an average price of $42.28, for a total transaction of $1,062,623.24. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 31,031 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,311,990.68. This represents a 44.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director La Chevardiere Patrick De sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was 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 owns 23,525 shares in the company, valued at approximately $789,969.50. This represents a 17.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Susquehanna dropped their target price on Schlumberger from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Schlumberger from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $46.00 to $43.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $53.00 to $48.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $52.38.

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.