Ardevora Asset Management LLP Sells 248,530 Shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Ardevora Asset Management LLP trimmed its stake in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 52.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 223,764 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 248,530 shares during the period. Schlumberger comprises about 1.0% of Ardevora Asset Management LLP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Ardevora Asset Management LLP’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $11,645,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BluePath Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Schlumberger in the third quarter valued at $25,000. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Schlumberger by 1,355.9% in the third quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 495 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 461 shares in the last quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Schlumberger in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Schlumberger in the second quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Schlumberger in the first quarter worth $25,000. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Schlumberger Trading Down 2.1 %

NYSE:SLB traded down $1.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $49.85. The company had a trading volume of 16,841,598 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,854,654. Schlumberger Limited has a fifty-two week low of $42.73 and a fifty-two week high of $62.12. The business’s fifty day moving average is $51.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $52.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.32. The firm has a market cap of $71.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.56, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.60.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The oil and gas company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.75. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.97% and a net margin of 12.68%. The firm had revenue of $8.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.63 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 5th will be issued a $0.275 dividend. This is an increase from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio is 36.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on SLB. Barclays reduced their price objective on Schlumberger from $74.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Schlumberger from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $68.00 price objective on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Schlumberger from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Monday, April 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $70.31.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Schlumberger news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.52, for a total value of $2,426,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 261,507 shares in the company, valued at $12,688,319.64. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.52, for a total transaction of $2,426,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 261,507 shares in the company, valued at $12,688,319.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Gavin Rennick sold 20,045 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.77, for a total value of $977,594.65. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 77,563 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,782,747.51. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 172,191 shares of company stock worth $8,636,322 over the last ninety days. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.