Swiss National Bank Increases Position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Swiss National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 0.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,242,627 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 29,200 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.30% of Schlumberger worth $177,978,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SLB. Financial Advocates Investment Management lifted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 6,558 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $309,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Schlumberger by 0.8% in the second quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 26,202 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,236,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in Schlumberger by 17.4% in the third quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,514 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. First PREMIER Bank grew its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 8.7% during the second quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 2,842 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $134,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Addison Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 6.5% during the second quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 3,794 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $179,000 after acquiring an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Schlumberger Price Performance

Shares of Schlumberger stock opened at $43.18 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $60.98 billion, a PE ratio of 13.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.52. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $42.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Schlumberger Limited has a twelve month low of $38.66 and a twelve month high of $55.69.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last announced its 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. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.84% and a net margin of 12.44%. The firm had revenue of $9.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.78 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 2.55%. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on SLB shares. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Schlumberger from $68.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Susquehanna cut their price objective on Schlumberger from $60.00 to $56.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 21st. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 target price on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price target (down previously from $62.00) on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Monday, October 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.