Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. Sells 997 Shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. lowered its stake in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,468 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 997 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $1,065,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SLB. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Schlumberger in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 35.3% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 39,287 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,623,000 after purchasing an additional 10,240 shares during the last quarter. Dakota Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Schlumberger in the first quarter valued at approximately $232,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Schlumberger during the first quarter worth $419,000. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Schlumberger by 2.9% during the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 112,003 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,627,000 after buying an additional 3,209 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Schlumberger Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of Schlumberger stock opened at $51.67 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $51.36 and a 200-day moving average of $52.56. The stock has a market cap of $73.75 billion, a PE ratio of 17.70, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.60. Schlumberger Limited has a 52-week low of $42.73 and a 52-week high of $62.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.32.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 19th. The oil and gas company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.71 earnings per share. Schlumberger’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.52 EPS for the current year.

Schlumberger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 4th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 7th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 6th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio is 34.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Monday, April 1st. Susquehanna restated a “positive” rating and set a $77.00 target price on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Monday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $74.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.31.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 261,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,688,319.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Schlumberger news, CAO Howard Guild sold 22,853 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.66, for a total transaction of $1,180,585.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 22,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,145,870.46. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.52, for a total value of $2,426,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 261,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,688,319.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 172,191 shares of company stock valued at $8,636,322 over the last quarter. 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.