Fisher Asset Management LLC Decreases Holdings in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Fisher Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 9.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 699,887 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 75,579 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $36,422,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Schlumberger by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 130,528,372 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $7,609,804,000 after buying an additional 1,412,821 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in Schlumberger by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 27,171,516 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,584,099,000 after purchasing an additional 282,709 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in Schlumberger by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 15,790,074 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $920,561,000 after purchasing an additional 292,817 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 30.5% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,370,835 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $488,020,000 after buying an additional 1,954,620 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 34.9% during the third quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 8,056,492 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $469,693,000 after buying an additional 2,085,506 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Schlumberger Price Performance

SLB stock opened at $47.66 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $51.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $51.79. Schlumberger Limited has a 12-month low of $42.73 and a 12-month high of $62.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company has a market capitalization of $68.12 billion, a PE ratio of 15.83, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.64.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The oil and gas company reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.72% and a return on equity of 21.88%. The company had revenue of $8.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.63 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.51 EPS for the current year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 5th. This is a positive change from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio is 36.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Schlumberger

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Schlumberger from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $53.00 in a research report on Monday, April 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Monday, April 1st. Bank of America cut their price target on Schlumberger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Schlumberger from $66.00 to $64.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Susquehanna restated a “positive” rating and issued a $77.00 target price on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Schlumberger has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.72.

Schlumberger Company 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.