Conning Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Schlumberger Limited $SLB

Conning Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 9.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,400 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 634 shares during the period. Conning Inc.’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $216,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. First Command Advisory Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Schlumberger by 300.0% in the 1st quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 636 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 477 shares during the period. Atticus Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Schlumberger in the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Schlumberger in the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 55.3% in the 2nd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 983 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the period. Finally, Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new position in Schlumberger in the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 81.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

Schlumberger stock opened at $31.75 on Monday. Schlumberger Limited has a 12-month low of $31.11 and a 12-month high of $44.97. The company has a market capitalization of $47.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.82 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $34.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $34.81.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The oil and gas company reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $8.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.85 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 3rd were given a $0.285 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 3rd. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Schlumberger’s payout ratio is presently 39.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SLB has been the topic of several research reports. Atb Cap Markets upgraded shares of Schlumberger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Barclays cut their target price 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. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Melius assumed coverage on Schlumberger in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $82.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on Schlumberger from $45.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Schlumberger has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.18.

Insider Buying and Selling at Schlumberger

In other news, insider Dianne B. Ralston sold 39,727 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.08, for a total value of $1,433,350.16. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 202,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,295,412.08. The trade was a 16.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.22% 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.