Natixis Advisors LLC Reduces Position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Natixis Advisors LLC lowered its stake in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 17.7% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 395,422 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 84,765 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $16,588,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. ORG Partners LLC lifted its position in Schlumberger by 393.5% during the 3rd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 607 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 484 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 204.2% in the second quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 584 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 392 shares during the last quarter. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Schlumberger during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Riverview Trust Co boosted its position in Schlumberger by 90.6% in the second quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 648 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Community Trust NA increased its holdings in Schlumberger by 264.0% in the 2nd quarter. First Community Trust NA now owns 728 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 528 shares during the period. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

NYSE:SLB opened at $43.10 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $42.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $44.61. Schlumberger Limited has a fifty-two week low of $38.66 and a fifty-two week high of $55.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.86 billion, a PE ratio of 13.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.48.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The oil and gas company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.01. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.44% and a return on equity of 21.84%. The firm had revenue of $9.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.78 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 4th will be paid a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 4th. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SLB has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $69.00 price objective on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen cut their price target on Schlumberger from $68.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Barclays decreased their price objective on Schlumberger from $67.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Schlumberger from $64.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.97.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Schlumberger news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.90, for a total transaction of $2,514,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 211,937 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,880,160.30. The trade was a 22.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is 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.