Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) Shares Purchased by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank increased its position in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 4,242,627 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 29,200 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $177,978,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. ORG Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 393.5% in the 3rd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 607 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 484 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC grew its position in Schlumberger by 204.2% in the second quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 584 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 392 shares during the period. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Schlumberger during the second quarter worth $30,000. Riverview Trust Co raised its position in Schlumberger by 90.6% in the second quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 648 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the period. Finally, First Community Trust NA lifted its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 264.0% in the 2nd quarter. First Community Trust NA now owns 728 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 528 shares during the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.90, for a total transaction of $2,514,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 211,937 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,880,160.30. This trade represents a 22.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

Shares of SLB opened at $43.18 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $60.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.52. Schlumberger Limited has a 52-week low of $38.66 and a 52-week high of $55.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $42.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.67.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The oil and gas company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.01. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.44% and a return on equity of 21.84%. The firm had revenue of $9.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.27 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.78 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 4th will be given a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 4th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.55%. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $64.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $68.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Schlumberger from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Schlumberger from $63.00 to $57.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 target price on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.97.

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.