Blue Trust Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Blue Trust Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 3.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,365 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 420 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $678,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Schlumberger by 30.7% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 354,321 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $20,657,000 after acquiring an additional 83,151 shares during the period. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Schlumberger during the third quarter worth approximately $618,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 1.2% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,067,998 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $237,301,000 after purchasing an additional 47,995 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC grew its position in Schlumberger by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 4,915 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $288,000 after buying an additional 373 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lido Advisors LLC increased its stake in Schlumberger by 19.6% in the 3rd quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 90,572 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $5,280,000 after buying an additional 14,857 shares during the period. 81.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CTO Demosthenis Pafitis sold 63,095 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.26, for a total value of $3,044,964.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 33,421 shares in the company, valued at $1,612,897.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Schlumberger news, insider Gavin Rennick sold 38,083 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.28, for a total value of $1,838,647.24. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 45,851 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,213,686.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CTO Demosthenis Pafitis sold 63,095 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.26, for a total value of $3,044,964.70. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 33,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,612,897.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 106,158 shares of company stock valued at $5,099,893 in the last quarter. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Schlumberger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SLB traded down $1.17 during trading on Friday, reaching $46.14. The company had a trading volume of 7,917,062 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,429,542. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.95 billion, a PE ratio of 15.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.55. Schlumberger Limited has a twelve month low of $42.61 and a twelve month high of $62.12. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $46.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $49.46.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The oil and gas company reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75. The company had revenue of $8.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.70 billion. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.72% and a return on equity of 21.88%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.63 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 5th will be issued a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 5th. This is an increase from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.38%. Schlumberger’s payout ratio is 36.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on SLB. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $64.00 target price on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut Schlumberger from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $68.00 to $53.00 in a report on Monday, April 29th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Schlumberger from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $65.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.59.

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.