NorthRock Partners LLC Buys 7,287 Shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

NorthRock Partners LLC increased its holdings in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) by 68.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,865 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,287 shares during the quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC's holdings in Schlumberger were worth $685,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. CX Institutional grew its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. CX Institutional now owns 10,370 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $398,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. TCW Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Schlumberger by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 19,797 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $759,000 after buying an additional 259 shares during the period. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Schlumberger by 0.5% in the fourth 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 buying an additional 262 shares during the period. Cromwell Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Schlumberger by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 4,350 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $167,000 after buying an additional 283 shares during the period. Finally, Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. lifted its holdings in Schlumberger by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. now owns 14,775 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $566,000 after buying an additional 293 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.99% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Schlumberger news, insider Gavin Rennick sold 26,990 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.92, for a total value of $1,104,430.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 53,584 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,192,657.28. This represents a 33.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Aparna Raman sold 25,133 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 31,031 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,311,990.68. The trade was a 44.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on SLB. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Schlumberger from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $46.00 to $44.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $60.00 to $59.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $52.44.

Schlumberger Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of SLB traded down $0.67 on Monday, reaching $35.10. The company's stock had a trading volume of 10,074,748 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,503,588. 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 Limited has a twelve month low of $31.11 and a twelve month high of $50.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.74 billion, a PE ratio of 11.29, a PEG ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.06. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $36.74 and a 200-day moving average of $39.56.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $0.72 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $8.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.75 EPS. The company's revenue was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

Schlumberger Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be given a $0.285 dividend. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 4th. Schlumberger's payout ratio is 38.64%.

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.