The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Boosts Stake in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 2.0% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,215,726 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 24,377 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $51,000,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC boosted its position in Schlumberger by 204.2% during the second quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 584 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 392 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC boosted its position in Schlumberger by 393.5% during the third quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 607 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 484 shares in the last quarter. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in Schlumberger during the second quarter worth $30,000. Riverview Trust Co boosted its position in Schlumberger by 90.6% during the second quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 648 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Schlumberger during the third quarter worth $29,000. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on SLB. UBS Group decreased their target price on Schlumberger from $63.00 to $57.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Schlumberger from $64.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Schlumberger from $74.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Schlumberger from $53.00 to $49.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on Schlumberger from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Schlumberger presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.97.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

Schlumberger stock opened at $43.66 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.04, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.52. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $42.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.45. Schlumberger Limited has a 52 week low of $38.66 and a 52 week high of $55.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The oil and gas company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $9.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.27 billion. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.84% and a net margin of 12.44%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.78 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Schlumberger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 4th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.52%. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.37%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Schlumberger news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 211,937 shares in the company, 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 SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is currently 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.