Swiss National Bank Sells 140,500 Shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Swiss National Bank decreased its holdings in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,444,127 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 140,500 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.31% of Schlumberger worth $231,272,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SLB. Highland Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Schlumberger by 2,494.0% in the fourth quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 101,426 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $5,278,000 after purchasing an additional 97,516 shares during the last quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD grew its stake in Schlumberger by 0.3% in the third quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 331,309 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $19,468,000 after acquiring an additional 965 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Schlumberger by 36.4% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,424,625 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $74,080,000 after acquiring an additional 380,185 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in Schlumberger by 3.8% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 5,557 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $324,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the period. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Schlumberger by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 607,312 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $31,726,000 after acquiring an additional 35,763 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SLB has been the subject of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $64.00 price objective on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Schlumberger from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Schlumberger from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $68.00 price objective on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Schlumberger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.72.

Schlumberger Price Performance

NYSE:SLB traded up $0.08 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $47.66. 10,999,773 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,168,643. The company has a market capitalization of $68.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.83, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.64. Schlumberger Limited has a 1-year low of $42.73 and a 1-year high of $62.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The business has a 50 day moving average of $51.66 and a 200 day moving average of $51.87.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The oil and gas company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75. The firm had revenue of $8.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.70 billion. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.88% and a net margin of 12.72%. The company’s revenue was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.63 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.51 EPS for the current year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 11th. Investors 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 5th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.54%.

Insider Activity at Schlumberger

In related news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.52, for a total transaction of $2,426,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 261,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,688,319.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.52, for a total transaction of $2,426,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 261,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,688,319.64. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Stephane Biguet sold 6,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.64, for a total value of $304,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 242,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,816,212.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Schlumberger

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.