ING Groep NV Sells 492,923 Shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

ING Groep NV decreased its holdings in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 89.0% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 60,902 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 492,923 shares during the period. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $2,555,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of SLB. Metis Global Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 5.6% in the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 78,906 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,310,000 after buying an additional 4,157 shares during the period. Curi RMB Capital LLC bought a new stake in Schlumberger in the third quarter valued at approximately $3,230,000. Huntington National Bank increased its position in Schlumberger by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 39,147 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,642,000 after purchasing an additional 1,665 shares during the period. Peak Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Schlumberger by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. Peak Asset Management LLC now owns 39,321 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,650,000 after purchasing an additional 2,860 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd lifted its position in shares of Schlumberger by 32.5% in the 3rd quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 81,296 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,407,000 after purchasing an additional 19,962 shares during the period. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Schlumberger

In other news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.90, for a total value of $2,514,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 211,937 shares in the company, valued at $8,880,160.30. This represents a 22.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Schlumberger Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE SLB opened at $43.18 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.12. Schlumberger Limited has a 1 year low of $38.66 and a 1 year high of $55.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $42.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $44.71.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The oil and gas company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $9.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.27 billion. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.84% and a net margin of 12.44%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.78 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.55%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 4th. Schlumberger’s payout ratio is currently 35.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SLB has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Dbs Bank began coverage on Schlumberger in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $64.50 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Schlumberger from $53.00 to $49.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Schlumberger from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Schlumberger to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.97.

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.