Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Acquires 4,665 Shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 2.1% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 225,906 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,665 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Schlumberger were worth $9,476,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SLB. AM Squared Ltd grew its position in Schlumberger by 16.3% during the third quarter. AM Squared Ltd now owns 5,000 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $210,000 after buying an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Alpha Family Trust bought a new stake in shares of Schlumberger in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $286,000. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 10,225 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $429,000 after purchasing an additional 503 shares in the last quarter. Archer Investment Corp increased its position in shares of Schlumberger by 9,418.8% during the third quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 6,092 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 6,028 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 1,346.5% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 367,329 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $15,409,000 after purchasing an additional 341,935 shares in the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Schlumberger Price Performance

SLB opened at $44.10 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $62.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.52. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $42.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $44.60. Schlumberger Limited has a one year low of $38.66 and a one year high of $55.69.

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 company had revenue of $9.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.27 billion. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.84% and a net margin of 12.44%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.78 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 4th will be issued 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 2.49%. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Schlumberger

In related news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $8,880,160.30. The trade was a 22.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on SLB shares. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $60.00 to $56.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 21st. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Schlumberger from $74.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Barclays cut their target price on Schlumberger from $67.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on Schlumberger from $63.00 to $57.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Schlumberger has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.97.

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.