Vanguard Group Inc. Has $5.18 Billion Position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Vanguard Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 135,162,515 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 1,272,536 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 0.10% of Schlumberger worth $5,182,131,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. LPL Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Schlumberger by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 790,906 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $30,323,000 after buying an additional 25,547 shares during the last quarter. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC raised its position in shares of Schlumberger by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC now owns 14,453 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $554,000 after buying an additional 1,406 shares during the last quarter. English Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Schlumberger by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. English Capital Management LLC now owns 100,106 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,838,000 after buying an additional 10,000 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of Schlumberger during the fourth quarter valued at about $22,075,000. Finally, Sfmg LLC raised its position in Schlumberger by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 91,646 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,514,000 after purchasing an additional 3,248 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Schlumberger news, insider Gavin Rennick sold 26,990 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.92, for a total transaction of $1,104,430.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 53,584 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,192,657.28. The trade was a 33.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Ugo Prechner sold 7,000 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.20, for a total transaction of $309,400.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 11,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $496,808. This represents a 38.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 290,772 shares of company stock valued at $12,546,660. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Atb Cap Markets lowered shares of Schlumberger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Griffin Securities lowered shares of Schlumberger from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $61.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI reissued an “in-line” rating and issued a $44.00 price target (down previously from $62.00) on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.81.

Schlumberger Price Performance

SLB opened at $41.09 on Monday. Schlumberger Limited has a one year low of $36.52 and a one year high of $55.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $41.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.47.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 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 period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.86 earnings per share. Schlumberger’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.285 per share. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 5th. This is a positive change from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Schlumberger’s payout ratio is currently 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.