Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) Shares Sold by Balentine LLC

Balentine LLC cut its stake in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 30.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,048 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 2,191 shares during the period. Balentine LLC’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $263,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Schlumberger by 1.1% during 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. FMR LLC lifted its position in Schlumberger by 1.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 27,171,516 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,584,099,000 after buying an additional 282,709 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Schlumberger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,000,292,000. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 1.9% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 15,790,074 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $920,561,000 after purchasing an additional 292,817 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 30.5% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,370,835 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $488,020,000 after purchasing an additional 1,954,620 shares during the period. 81.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

SLB stock opened at $46.48 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $66.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.44, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $51.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $50.90. Schlumberger Limited has a fifty-two week low of $42.73 and a fifty-two week high of $62.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The oil and gas company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.75. The business had revenue of $8.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.70 billion. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.72% and a return on equity of 21.88%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.63 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.37%. This is an increase from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 5th. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SLB has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 price objective on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Monday, April 1st. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $66.00 to $64.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.72.

Insider Buying and Selling at Schlumberger

In other Schlumberger news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,688,319.64. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Schlumberger news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,688,319.64. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Gavin Rennick sold 38,083 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were 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 directly 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 three months, insiders sold 157,428 shares of company stock valued at $7,613,612. 0.26% of the stock is owned by 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.