Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) Shares Sold by Retirement Systems of Alabama

Retirement Systems of Alabama cut its holdings in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 0.6% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 313,515 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 1,782 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $13,152,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in SLB. Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in Schlumberger by 2.0% in the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 889,375 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $41,961,000 after purchasing an additional 17,346 shares during the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 6.4% during the 2nd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 52,617 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,482,000 after acquiring an additional 3,142 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Schlumberger by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 332,410 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $15,683,000 after buying an additional 18,826 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Schlumberger by 23.5% in the 2nd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 6,954 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $328,000 after buying an additional 1,324 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dakota Wealth Management lifted its stake in Schlumberger by 28.1% in the 2nd quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 42,118 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,987,000 after buying an additional 9,236 shares in the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Schlumberger

In related news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the company’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 owns 211,937 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,880,160.30. This represents a 22.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Schlumberger Stock Down 2.1 %

SLB stock opened at $40.22 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $56.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.51. Schlumberger Limited has a 52 week low of $38.66 and a 52 week high of $55.69. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $42.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The oil and gas company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.01. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.44% and a return on equity of 21.84%. The company had revenue of $9.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.78 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 4th. Schlumberger’s payout ratio is 35.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on SLB shares. Dbs Bank started coverage on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $64.50 price target on the stock. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $53.00 to $49.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Schlumberger to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.91.

Schlumberger 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.