Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Raises Stock Holdings in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 10.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 497,169 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 46,924 shares during the quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $20,856,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Schlumberger in the second quarter worth about $257,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 817,771 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $34,305,000 after purchasing an additional 65,318 shares during the period. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Schlumberger by 269.1% in the third quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 19,718 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $827,000 after purchasing an additional 14,376 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its stake in Schlumberger by 0.6% in the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 1,901,713 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $89,723,000 after purchasing an additional 11,813 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Schlumberger by 26.0% during the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 307,040 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $12,880,000 after purchasing an additional 63,413 shares during the period. 81.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SLB has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup dropped their price target on Schlumberger from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company cut 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. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 target price (down previously from $62.00) on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.91.

Schlumberger Price Performance

SLB stock opened at $40.88 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $44.13. The stock has a market cap of $57.72 billion, a PE ratio of 13.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.51. Schlumberger Limited has a one year low of $38.66 and a one year high of $55.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.12.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.01. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.44% and a return on equity of 21.84%. The company had revenue of $9.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.78 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 4th will be given a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 4th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.69%. Schlumberger’s payout ratio is 35.37%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.90, for a total value of $2,514,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 211,937 shares in the company, valued at $8,880,160.30. This trade represents a 22.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.