Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. Trims Holdings in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 14.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 22,163 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 3,642 shares during the quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc.’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $850,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its position in Schlumberger by 25.9% during the third quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 761,875 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $31,961,000 after buying an additional 156,698 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its position in Schlumberger by 27.0% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 76,838 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,223,000 after purchasing an additional 16,350 shares during the period. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC raised its position in Schlumberger by 502.6% in the fourth quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 198,024 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $7,592,000 after purchasing an additional 165,162 shares during the period. Narwhal Capital Management grew its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 225.5% in the fourth quarter. Narwhal Capital Management now owns 74,645 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,862,000 after buying an additional 51,715 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank grew its stake in Schlumberger by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 306,183 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $11,739,000 after purchasing an additional 16,914 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on SLB. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Schlumberger from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Atb Cap Markets cut Schlumberger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Griffin Securities cut Schlumberger from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Schlumberger from $60.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Schlumberger from $53.00 to $48.00 in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.81.

Schlumberger Stock Up 0.8 %

SLB opened at $41.42 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $41.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company has a market cap of $56.32 billion, a PE ratio of 13.32, a P/E/G ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.47. Schlumberger Limited has a 52 week low of $36.52 and a 52 week high of $55.69.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.02. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. The company had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.24 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.86 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be given a dividend of $0.285 per share. This is a boost from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 5th. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.75%. Schlumberger’s payout ratio is presently 36.66%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Schlumberger news, VP Ugo Prechner sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.20, for a total transaction of $309,400.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 11,240 shares in the company, valued at approximately $496,808. The trade was a 38.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Vijay Kasibhatla sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.94, for a total value of $1,098,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 49,595 shares in the company, valued at $2,179,204.30. The trade was a 33.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 290,772 shares of company stock worth $12,546,660. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

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.