Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Reduces Stake in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund reduced its stake in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 121,060 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 430 shares during the quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $4,641,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 25.9% during the 3rd quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 761,875 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $31,961,000 after purchasing an additional 156,698 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 27.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 76,838 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,223,000 after purchasing an additional 16,350 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 817,771 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $34,305,000 after purchasing an additional 65,318 shares during the period. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 502.6% during the 4th quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 198,024 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $7,592,000 after purchasing an additional 165,162 shares during the period. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 269.1% during the 3rd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 19,718 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $827,000 after purchasing an additional 14,376 shares during the period. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Griffin Securities cut Schlumberger from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays lowered their price target on Schlumberger from $61.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Evercore ISI reiterated an “in-line” rating and set a $44.00 price target (down from $62.00) on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Schlumberger from $53.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler started coverage on Schlumberger in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $47.00 target price on the stock. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Schlumberger presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.81.

Schlumberger Price Performance

SLB stock opened at $40.53 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.03, a P/E/G ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.51. The business’s 50-day moving average is $40.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.85. Schlumberger Limited has a 1 year low of $36.52 and a 1 year high of $55.69.

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

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be given a dividend of $0.285 per share. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 5th. This is a positive change from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.66%.

Insider Transactions at Schlumberger

In other news, insider Dianne B. Ralston sold 43,161 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.96, for a total transaction of $1,897,357.56. Following the sale, the insider now owns 235,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,331,655.04. This trade represents a 15.52 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Bejar Carmen Rando sold 5,524 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.41, for a total value of $223,224.84. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 30,829 shares in the company, valued at $1,245,799.89. This trade represents a 15.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 290,772 shares of company stock valued at $12,546,660. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

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.