Banque Pictet & Cie SA Lowers Position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Banque Pictet & Cie SA trimmed its position in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 268,881 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 8,081 shares during the period. Banque Pictet & Cie SA’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $10,309,000 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 company. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky increased its holdings in Schlumberger by 25.9% in the third quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 761,875 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $31,961,000 after buying an additional 156,698 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its position in shares of Schlumberger by 27.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 76,838 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,223,000 after acquiring an additional 16,350 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake 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 valued at $34,305,000 after purchasing an additional 65,318 shares in the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Schlumberger by 269.1% in the 3rd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 19,718 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $827,000 after purchasing an additional 14,376 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its position 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 worth $12,880,000 after purchasing an additional 63,413 shares in the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

Schlumberger stock opened at $42.07 on Friday. Schlumberger Limited has a 1-year low of $36.52 and a 1-year high of $55.69. The stock has a market cap of $58.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.49 and a beta of 1.51. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

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

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be given a dividend of $0.285 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 5th. This is a boost from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.71%. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SLB has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Schlumberger from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $60.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Evercore ISI reissued an “in-line” rating and set a $44.00 target price (down previously from $62.00) on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Schlumberger from $53.00 to $48.00 in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $57.00 price objective on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.81.

Insider Buying and Selling at Schlumberger

In other news, EVP Mogharbel Khaled Al sold 123,097 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.09, for a total value of $5,427,346.73. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 184,626 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,140,160.34. The trade was a 40.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.44, for a total value of $2,486,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 210,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,723,202.88. The trade was a 22.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 263,782 shares of company stock worth $11,442,229 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

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.