Lafayette Investments Inc. Has $598,000 Position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Lafayette Investments Inc. raised its position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 24.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,500 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,250 shares during the quarter. Lafayette Investments Inc.’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $598,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Schlumberger by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 18,315 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $953,000 after acquiring an additional 1,241 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. lifted its stake in Schlumberger by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 185,501 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $9,653,000 after acquiring an additional 13,769 shares during the last quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. lifted its stake in Schlumberger by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 13,051 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $679,000 after acquiring an additional 442 shares during the last quarter. Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. lifted its stake in Schlumberger by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. now owns 60,523 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,150,000 after acquiring an additional 5,771 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of Schlumberger by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. now owns 55,891 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,909,000 after purchasing an additional 3,660 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Schlumberger news, VP Kevin Fyfe sold 20,223 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.05, for a total transaction of $1,052,607.15. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 31,198 shares in the company, valued at $1,623,855.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Schlumberger news, VP Kevin Fyfe sold 20,223 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.05, for a total transaction of $1,052,607.15. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 31,198 shares in the company, valued at $1,623,855.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Howard Guild sold 22,853 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.66, for a total transaction of $1,180,585.98. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 22,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,145,870.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 172,191 shares of company stock worth $8,636,322. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Schlumberger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SLB traded down $0.93 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $50.01. The stock had a trading volume of 6,076,183 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,134,946. The company has a market capitalization of $71.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.60. Schlumberger Limited has a fifty-two week low of $42.73 and a fifty-two week high of $62.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $51.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $52.48.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The oil and gas company reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.68% and a return on equity of 21.97%. The company had revenue of $8.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.63 EPS. Schlumberger’s quarterly revenue was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.275 per share. This is an increase from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on SLB shares. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $74.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Susquehanna restated a “positive” rating and set a $77.00 target price on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Monday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.31.

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.