Plato Investment Management Ltd Increases Stock Holdings in Schlumberger Limited $SLB

Plato Investment Management Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 4.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 85,084 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,788 shares during the quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $3,595,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 21.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,611 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $253,000 after acquiring an additional 1,166 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Schlumberger in the fourth quarter valued at about $238,000. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its position in Schlumberger by 32.9% in the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 148,638 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $5,777,000 after purchasing an additional 36,837 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in Schlumberger by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 140,587 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $5,390,000 after purchasing an additional 6,597 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Schlumberger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $619,000. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Schlumberger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SLB opened at $35.80 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $34.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $35.86. Schlumberger Limited has a 52 week low of $31.11 and a 52 week high of $46.15. The stock has a market cap of $48.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.26, a PEG ratio of 9.93 and a beta of 1.05.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The oil and gas company reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.01. Schlumberger had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 20.99%. The business had revenue of $8.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.51 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.85 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 3rd will be issued a $0.285 dividend. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 3rd. Schlumberger’s payout ratio is 39.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on SLB. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Schlumberger from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Schlumberger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, July 20th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Melius Research started coverage on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $82.00 price target for the company. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.86.

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.