Independence Bank of Kentucky Boosts Stock Holdings in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Independence Bank of Kentucky grew its position in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 42.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,004 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,200 shares during the quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $768,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 132,281,480 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $6,883,928,000 after purchasing an additional 1,753,108 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 12.9% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 75,379,848 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,922,768,000 after purchasing an additional 8,617,971 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 51,617,471 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,686,173,000 after purchasing an additional 1,133,686 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Schlumberger during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,000,292,000. Finally, Morgan Stanley grew its stake in Schlumberger by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 15,790,074 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $920,561,000 after acquiring an additional 292,817 shares during the period. 81.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen dropped 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. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $65.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $66.00 to $64.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Schlumberger has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.59.

Insider Activity

In other news, CTO Demosthenis Pafitis sold 63,095 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.26, for a total transaction of $3,044,964.70. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 33,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,612,897.46. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CTO Demosthenis Pafitis sold 63,095 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.26, for a total value of $3,044,964.70. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 33,421 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,612,897.46. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Bejar Carmen Rando sold 4,980 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.43, for a total transaction of $216,281.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 22,518 shares in the company, valued at $977,956.74. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 106,158 shares of company stock valued at $5,099,893. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Schlumberger Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of SLB stock opened at $47.18 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $46.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $49.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The stock has a market cap of $67.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.67, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.57. Schlumberger Limited has a twelve month low of $42.61 and a twelve month high of $62.12.

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

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.275 per share. This is a boost from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 5th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.33%. Schlumberger’s payout ratio is presently 36.54%.

Schlumberger Company 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.