Howland Capital Management LLC Sells 1,049 Shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Howland Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 7.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,176 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 1,049 shares during the period. Howland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $512,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SLB. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 21.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,611 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $253,000 after acquiring an additional 1,166 shares in the last quarter. Westpac Banking Corp lifted its position in shares of Schlumberger by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 19,758 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $758,000 after purchasing an additional 1,973 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors boosted its stake in Schlumberger by 12.2% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 5,582 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $215,000 after purchasing an additional 609 shares during the period. Smith Moore & CO. boosted its stake in Schlumberger by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Smith Moore & CO. now owns 20,482 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $785,000 after purchasing an additional 2,182 shares during the period. Finally, Islay Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Schlumberger by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Islay Capital Management LLC now owns 28,713 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,101,000 after buying an additional 2,188 shares during the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Schlumberger

In other news, Director La Chevardiere Patrick De sold 5,000 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.58, for a total value of $167,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 23,525 shares in the company, valued at approximately $789,969.50. The trade was a 17.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Barclays dropped their price target on Schlumberger from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $54.00 to $52.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.28.

Schlumberger Price Performance

Shares of SLB stock opened at $33.04 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $34.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.24. Schlumberger Limited has a one year low of $31.11 and a one year high of $46.16. The firm has a market cap of $44.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.32, a P/E/G ratio of 9.38 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The oil and gas company reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.01. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 20.99% and a net margin of 11.53%. The company had revenue of $8.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.51 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.85 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 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, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.285 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 3rd. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.04%.

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.