Candriam S.C.A. Lowers Stock Holdings in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Candriam S.C.A. decreased its position in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 232,426 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 7,977 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $8,911,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky increased its holdings in Schlumberger by 25.9% in the 3rd quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 761,875 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $31,961,000 after acquiring an additional 156,698 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its holdings in Schlumberger by 27.0% in the 3rd 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 acquiring an additional 16,350 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Schlumberger by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 817,771 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $34,305,000 after acquiring an additional 65,318 shares during the last quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Schlumberger by 502.6% in the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 165,162 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Schlumberger by 269.1% in the 3rd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 19,718 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $827,000 after acquiring an additional 14,376 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Dianne B. Ralston sold 43,161 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.96, for a total value of $1,897,357.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 235,024 shares in the company, valued at $10,331,655.04. The trade was a 15.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Ugo Prechner sold 7,000 shares of Schlumberger 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 11,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $496,808. This represents a 38.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 290,772 shares of company stock valued at $12,546,660. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Schlumberger Price Performance

Shares of SLB opened at $41.36 on Friday. Schlumberger Limited has a 1-year low of $36.52 and a 1-year high of $55.69. The stock has a market cap of $56.25 billion, a PE ratio of 13.30, a P/E/G ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.47. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

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

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be paid a $0.285 dividend. This is a positive change from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 5th. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.76%. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on SLB shares. Griffin Securities downgraded shares of Schlumberger from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $53.00 to $48.00 in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Schlumberger to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Six investment 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.81.

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.