Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. Trims Stock Holdings in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. reduced its stake in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 11.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,860 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 1,050 shares during the period. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $371,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Schlumberger by 1.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 134,150,168 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $7,352,771,000 after purchasing an additional 1,868,688 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased its stake in Schlumberger by 72.3% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 88,950,956 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,875,402,000 after purchasing an additional 37,333,485 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Schlumberger by 14.1% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 85,986,039 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,712,897,000 after purchasing an additional 10,606,191 shares during the period. Capital International Investors increased its stake in Schlumberger by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,797,363 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $770,122,000 after purchasing an additional 89,483 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners increased its stake in Schlumberger by 35.8% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 11,640,827 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $635,883,000 after purchasing an additional 3,069,395 shares during the period. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Mogharbel Khaled Al sold 120,668 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.19, for a total value of $6,056,326.92. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 247,699 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,432,012.81. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Mogharbel Khaled Al sold 120,668 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.19, for a total value of $6,056,326.92. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 247,699 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,432,012.81. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Vijay Kasibhatla sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.29, for a total value of $492,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 62,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,073,428.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 180,716 shares of company stock valued at $9,048,624. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

Shares of SLB opened at $42.41 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $44.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company has a market capitalization of $60.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.51. Schlumberger Limited has a 52-week low of $38.66 and a 52-week high of $61.41.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 19th. The oil and gas company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $9.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.08 billion. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.92% and a net margin of 12.56%. The company’s revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.72 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 4th will be issued a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.59%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 4th. Schlumberger’s payout ratio is currently 36.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on SLB shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Schlumberger from $65.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on Schlumberger from $63.00 to $57.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.29.

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.