Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Raises Position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 9.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 578,170 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 48,417 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $30,088,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SLB. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $7,609,804,000 after purchasing an additional 1,412,821 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in Schlumberger by 1.9% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 15,790,074 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $920,561,000 after purchasing an additional 292,817 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Schlumberger by 30.5% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,370,835 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $488,020,000 after purchasing an additional 1,954,620 shares during the period. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 34.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 8,056,492 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $469,693,000 after purchasing an additional 2,085,506 shares during the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 transaction 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 approximately $12,688,319.64. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Schlumberger news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.52, for a total transaction of $2,426,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 261,507 shares in the company, valued at $12,688,319.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Stephane Biguet sold 6,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.64, for a total transaction of $304,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 242,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,816,212.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating and set a $77.00 target price on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $65.00 target price on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Monday, April 22nd. HSBC restated a “buy” rating and set a $71.00 target price on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Thursday, April 4th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $66.00 to $64.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen 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 a consensus price target of $68.72.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

NYSE SLB traded up $0.08 on Friday, reaching $47.66. The stock had a trading volume of 10,999,773 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,168,643. Schlumberger Limited has a 1-year low of $42.73 and a 1-year high of $62.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company has a market cap of $68.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.64. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $51.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $51.87.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The oil and gas company reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.75. The company had revenue of $8.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.70 billion. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.88% and a net margin of 12.72%. Schlumberger’s quarterly revenue was up 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.63 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.51 EPS for the current year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The business 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 $0.275 dividend. This is a boost from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 5th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.54%.

Schlumberger Company 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.