Ascent Group LLC Decreases Stake in Schlumberger Limited $SLB

Ascent Group LLC decreased its holdings in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 16.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 29,210 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 5,731 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $987,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 478.8% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 47,719,476 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,994,674,000 after acquiring an additional 39,474,501 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its position in Schlumberger by 27.7% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 19,829,381 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $824,160,000 after purchasing an additional 4,300,222 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 211.1% during the first quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 5,992,997 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $250,507,000 after purchasing an additional 4,066,500 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Schlumberger in the first quarter worth about $169,232,000. Finally, Banque Transatlantique SA grew its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 21,737.8% in the first quarter. Banque Transatlantique SA now owns 1,859,274 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $71,821,000 after buying an additional 1,850,760 shares in the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Schlumberger from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Melius Research assumed coverage on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $82.00 target price on the stock. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Schlumberger from $54.00 to $52.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $52.18.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

Shares of SLB opened at $34.26 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.17 billion, a PE ratio of 11.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.51 and a beta of 0.97. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $34.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $35.10. 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 Limited has a 12-month low of $31.11 and a 12-month high of $46.15.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The oil and gas company reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.01. Schlumberger had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 20.99%. The company had revenue of $8.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.85 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

Schlumberger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 3rd will be paid a $0.285 dividend. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 3rd. Schlumberger’s payout ratio is presently 39.04%.

Insider Activity at Schlumberger

In other news, insider Dianne B. Ralston sold 39,727 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.08, for a total transaction of $1,433,350.16. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 202,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,295,412.08. This represents a 16.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.22% 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.