Zacks Investment Management Decreases Stake in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Zacks Investment Management lowered its stake in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 94.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,062 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 213,127 shares during the quarter. Zacks Investment Management’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $506,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. iSAM Funds UK Ltd acquired a new position in Schlumberger in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,691,000. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in shares of Schlumberger by 77.9% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 866,249 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $36,339,000 after buying an additional 379,385 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Schlumberger by 323.2% in the 3rd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 29,236 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,226,000 after purchasing an additional 22,328 shares in the last quarter. Wahed Invest LLC lifted its holdings in Schlumberger by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 34,703 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,456,000 after purchasing an additional 2,379 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Schlumberger during the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,322,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Schlumberger Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of SLB stock opened at $40.88 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.48. Schlumberger Limited has a 52-week low of $38.66 and a 52-week high of $55.69. The company has a market capitalization of $57.72 billion, a PE ratio of 13.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.51. The business’s fifty day moving average is $43.01 and its 200 day moving average is $44.13.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The oil and gas company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.01. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.84% and a net margin of 12.44%. The business had revenue of $9.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.78 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 4th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.69%. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on SLB. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $53.00 to $49.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Schlumberger from $74.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Dbs Bank started coverage on Schlumberger in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $64.50 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Schlumberger from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised Schlumberger to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Two equities research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.91.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.90, for a total value of $2,514,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 211,937 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,880,160.30. This trade represents a 22.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

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.