Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) Holdings Reduced by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund decreased its position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 18.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,894,549 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 441,493 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $72,637,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 25.9% in the third quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 761,875 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $31,961,000 after acquiring an additional 156,698 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 27.0% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 76,838 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,223,000 after acquiring an additional 16,350 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 8.7% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 817,771 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $34,305,000 after acquiring an additional 65,318 shares in the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 269.1% in the third quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 19,718 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $827,000 after acquiring an additional 14,376 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 26.0% in the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 307,040 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $12,880,000 after acquiring an additional 63,413 shares in the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Schlumberger news, insider Bejar Carmen Rando sold 5,524 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.41, for a total value of $223,224.84. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 30,829 shares in the company, valued at $1,245,799.89. This represents a 15.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 210,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,723,202.88. This trade represents a 22.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 263,782 shares of company stock worth $11,442,229 in the last quarter. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SLB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $53.00 to $48.00 in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $57.00 target price on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.81.

Schlumberger Stock Down 1.1 %

SLB stock opened at $42.19 on Thursday. Schlumberger Limited has a 12-month low of $36.52 and a 12-month high of $55.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company has a market cap of $59.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.56, a PEG ratio of 9.90 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a 50 day moving average of $40.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.92.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.02. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 21.90%. The company had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.86 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a $0.285 dividend. This is an increase from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 5th. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.70%. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.66%.

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.