KBC Group NV Sells 1,413 Shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

KBC Group NV decreased its holdings in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 109,261 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 1,413 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $4,189,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 0.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 90,209,014 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,808,476,000 after acquiring an additional 528,279 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 28,608,226 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,195,290,000 after purchasing an additional 239,966 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Schlumberger by 20.6% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 11,213,944 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $470,425,000 after buying an additional 1,916,851 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Schlumberger by 0.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,990,797 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $335,214,000 after buying an additional 31,718 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Schlumberger by 8.0% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,487,067 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $188,232,000 after buying an additional 332,500 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Schlumberger from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Griffin Securities downgraded Schlumberger from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $53.00 to $48.00 in a report on Thursday, January 16th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $60.00 to $56.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.81.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Ugo Prechner sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.20, for a total transaction of $309,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 11,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $496,808. This represents a 38.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.44, for a total transaction of $2,486,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 210,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,723,202.88. The trade was a 22.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 258,258 shares of company stock valued at $11,219,004 in the last ninety days. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Schlumberger Trading Up 0.2 %

Schlumberger stock opened at $41.03 on Friday. Schlumberger Limited has a one year low of $36.52 and a one year high of $55.69. The business’s fifty day moving average is $40.64 and its 200 day moving average is $42.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.93 billion, a PE ratio of 13.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.98 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.02. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 21.90%. The business had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.86 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.34 EPS for the current year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.285 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 5th. This is a positive change from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.78%. Schlumberger’s payout ratio is currently 35.37%.

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.