Federated Hermes Inc. Sells 266,502 Shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Federated Hermes Inc. cut its position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 49.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 267,061 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 266,502 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $10,239,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Schlumberger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $735,398,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Schlumberger by 12,289.6% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 13,043,359 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $500,082,000 after acquiring an additional 12,938,082 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 43,028.0% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 2,652,804 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $101,708,000 after acquiring an additional 2,646,653 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Schlumberger by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 15,396,967 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $590,320,000 after purchasing an additional 1,700,203 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 196.9% during the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 2,312,304 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $88,654,000 after purchasing an additional 1,533,366 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SLB opened at $32.52 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $40.13 and its 200 day moving average is $41.09. The stock has a market cap of $44.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.46, a P/E/G ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.11. Schlumberger Limited has a 1-year low of $31.11 and a 1-year high of $54.63. 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 (NYSE:SLB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.02. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 21.90%. The firm had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.24 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.86 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th were given a dividend of $0.285 per share. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.51%. This is a positive change from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 5th. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.66%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup raised their target price on Schlumberger from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $60.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Schlumberger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $46.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $54.68.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Vijay Kasibhatla sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.94, for a total transaction of $1,098,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 49,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,179,204.30. This represents a 33.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Ugo Prechner sold 7,000 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.20, for a total transaction of $309,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 11,240 shares in the company, valued at approximately $496,808. The trade was a 38.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 315,905 shares of company stock valued at $13,609,283. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by 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.