Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) Stake Lifted by Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 493,109 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,855 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $25,661,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Schlumberger in the 4th quarter worth $1,000,292,000. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in Schlumberger by 79.7% during the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 4,919,990 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $286,835,000 after purchasing an additional 2,182,706 shares during the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Schlumberger by 34.9% during the third quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 8,056,492 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $469,693,000 after buying an additional 2,085,506 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Schlumberger by 30.5% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,370,835 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $488,020,000 after buying an additional 1,954,620 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 1.1% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 130,528,372 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $7,609,804,000 after buying an additional 1,412,821 shares in the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut Schlumberger from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $68.00 to $53.00 in a report on Monday, April 29th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Schlumberger from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating and issued a $77.00 target price on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $66.00 to $64.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.72.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Gavin Rennick sold 38,083 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.28, for a total value of $1,838,647.24. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 45,851 shares in the company, valued at $2,213,686.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Schlumberger news, CTO Demosthenis Pafitis sold 63,095 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.26, for a total transaction of $3,044,964.70. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 33,421 shares in the company, valued at $1,612,897.46. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Gavin Rennick sold 38,083 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.28, for a total transaction of $1,838,647.24. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 45,851 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,213,686.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 157,428 shares of company stock worth $7,613,612. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Schlumberger Stock Down 0.2 %

NYSE SLB traded down $0.08 on Friday, reaching $46.24. The stock had a trading volume of 6,800,987 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,633,589. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Schlumberger Limited has a 1 year low of $42.73 and a 1 year high of $62.12. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $50.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $50.78. The company has a market capitalization of $66.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.36, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.64.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The oil and gas company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.75. The business had revenue of $8.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.70 billion. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.88% and a net margin of 12.72%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.63 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.275 per share. This is a positive change from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 5th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.38%. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio is 36.54%.

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.