Russell Investments Group Ltd. Has $221.53 Million Position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. reduced its holdings in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 8.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,256,707 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 378,591 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.30% of Schlumberger worth $221,533,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Schlumberger in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Schlumberger during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. MCF Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 1,355.9% during the 3rd quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 495 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 461 shares during the last quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 1,180.4% during the 4th quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 653 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 602 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 64.3% during the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 746 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SLB. Susquehanna restated a “positive” rating and set a $77.00 price objective on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 price objective on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Schlumberger

In other news, CFO Stephane Biguet sold 6,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.78, for a total transaction of $329,875.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 249,182 shares in the company, valued at $13,151,825.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CFO Stephane Biguet sold 6,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.78, for a total transaction of $329,875.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 249,182 shares in the company, valued at $13,151,825.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Katharina Beumelburg sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.62, for a total transaction of $420,960.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 15,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $819,872.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 90,545 shares of company stock worth $4,458,430. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Schlumberger Price Performance

SLB stock traded down $0.24 during trading on Friday, reaching $49.20. 8,250,858 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,808,635. The company has a 50-day moving average of $51.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $52.17. The company has a market capitalization of $70.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.35, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.60. Schlumberger Limited has a twelve month low of $42.73 and a twelve month 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.

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

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 5th will be given a $0.275 dividend. This is a boost from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 5th. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio is 36.54%.

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.