Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Boosts Stock Holdings in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 85.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 313,518 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 144,327 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $16,315,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Guinness Asset Management LTD boosted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 0.3% during the third quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 331,309 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $19,468,000 after purchasing an additional 965 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 36.4% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,424,625 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $74,080,000 after purchasing an additional 380,185 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 3.8% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 5,557 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $324,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the period. Chiron Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Schlumberger during the third quarter worth about $4,733,000. Finally, Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Schlumberger in the fourth quarter worth about $1,087,000. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Schlumberger

In other Schlumberger news, CFO Stephane Biguet sold 6,250 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.78, for a total value of $329,875.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 249,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,151,825.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Schlumberger news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 50,000 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.52, for a total value of $2,426,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 261,507 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,688,319.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Stephane Biguet sold 6,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.78, for a total transaction of $329,875.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 249,182 shares in the company, valued at $13,151,825.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 172,191 shares of company stock worth $8,636,322. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Schlumberger Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of Schlumberger stock opened at $54.90 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $50.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $53.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.36 billion, a PE ratio of 18.80, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.59. 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 0.51, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 19th. The oil and gas company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.02. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.68% and a return on equity of 21.97%. The company had revenue of $8.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.71 EPS. Schlumberger’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Schlumberger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 4th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 6th. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SLB has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $66.00 price objective on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 target price on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Susquehanna reaffirmed a “positive” rating and set a $77.00 target price on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.87.

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.