Geode Capital Management LLC Raises Holdings in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 4.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 29,985,360 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,377,134 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $1,146,195,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in SLB. State Street Corp increased its position in Schlumberger by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 90,209,014 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,808,476,000 after purchasing an additional 528,279 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 27,836,555 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,067,254,000 after purchasing an additional 343,261 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Schlumberger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $735,398,000. Boston Partners raised its stake in Schlumberger by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 15,529,159 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $597,356,000 after buying an additional 1,405,186 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Schlumberger by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 15,396,967 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $590,320,000 after buying an additional 1,700,203 shares during the period. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Schlumberger from $49.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $60.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Evercore ISI restated an “in-line” rating and issued a $44.00 price target (down from $62.00) on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $47.00 price objective for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Schlumberger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.69.

Insider Transactions at Schlumberger

In related news, insider Dianne B. Ralston sold 43,161 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.96, for a total transaction of $1,897,357.56. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 235,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,331,655.04. This represents a 15.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Aparna Raman sold 25,133 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction on Friday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.28, for a total transaction of $1,062,623.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 31,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,311,990.68. The trade was a 44.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 315,905 shares of company stock worth $13,609,283 over the last quarter. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Schlumberger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SLB opened at $42.11 on Wednesday. Schlumberger Limited has a 52 week low of $36.52 and a 52 week high of $55.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The firm has a market cap of $57.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.54, a P/E/G ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.47. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $41.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.50.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.24 billion. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 21.90%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.86 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be issued a $0.285 dividend. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 5th. This is a boost from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Schlumberger’s payout ratio is 36.66%.

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.