Independent Advisor Alliance Trims Position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Independent Advisor Alliance reduced its position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 26.6% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 8,312 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 3,019 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $349,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SLB. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Schlumberger in the second quarter valued at $92,944,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Schlumberger in the 2nd quarter valued at about $91,364,000. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 14.0% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 12,686,384 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $598,544,000 after acquiring an additional 1,560,684 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 14.9% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,067,465 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $333,445,000 after acquiring an additional 915,705 shares during the period. Finally, Merewether Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Schlumberger in the second quarter worth approximately $42,957,000. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Schlumberger Price Performance

SLB opened at $43.66 on Friday. Schlumberger Limited has a twelve month low of $38.66 and a twelve month high of $55.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The firm has a market cap of $61.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.04, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $44.45.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The oil and gas company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.01. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.84% and a net margin of 12.44%. The company had revenue of $9.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.27 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.78 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 4th will be given a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 4th. Schlumberger’s payout ratio is 35.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on SLB shares. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 target price (down from $62.00) on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Monday, October 21st. UBS Group reduced their target price on Schlumberger from $63.00 to $57.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Susquehanna dropped their price target on Schlumberger from $60.00 to $56.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Schlumberger from $68.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.97.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.90, for a total value of $2,514,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 211,937 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,880,160.30. This represents a 22.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company 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.