iA Global Asset Management Inc. Purchases 28,623 Shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

iA Global Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 19.1% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 178,419 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 28,623 shares during the quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $9,779,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BCM Advisors LLC grew its position in Schlumberger by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. BCM Advisors LLC now owns 18,904 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,036,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of Schlumberger by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 10,808 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $592,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the period. Hilltop Holdings Inc. grew its position in shares of Schlumberger by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 10,761 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $560,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the period. Team Hewins LLC grew its position in shares of Schlumberger by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Team Hewins LLC now owns 7,924 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $436,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the period. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of Schlumberger by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 10,551 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $578,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Schlumberger

In related news, CTO Demosthenis Pafitis sold 63,095 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.26, for a total transaction of $3,044,964.70. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 33,421 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,612,897.46. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Schlumberger news, insider Bejar Carmen Rando sold 4,980 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.43, for a total value of $216,281.40. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,518 shares in the company, valued at approximately $977,956.74. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Demosthenis Pafitis sold 63,095 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.26, for a total transaction of $3,044,964.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 33,421 shares in the company, valued at $1,612,897.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 286,874 shares of company stock worth $14,148,517. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 target price on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $69.00 target price on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Schlumberger from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $68.00 to $53.00 in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $62.00 to $58.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.56.

Schlumberger Price Performance

Shares of Schlumberger stock traded down $1.63 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $46.66. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 8,829,821 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,007,047. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $46.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $48.96. Schlumberger Limited has a one year low of $42.61 and a one year high of $62.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.49 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market cap of $66.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.55.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The oil and gas company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $9.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.08 billion. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.56% and a return on equity of 21.92%. The firm’s revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.72 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.49 EPS for the current year.

Schlumberger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 4th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.36%. Schlumberger’s payout ratio is 36.54%.

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.