Arizona State Retirement System Sells 2,336 Shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Arizona State Retirement System reduced its position in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 407,489 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 2,336 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $15,623,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Stephens Inc. AR lifted its position in Schlumberger by 37.3% in the third quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 14,035 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $589,000 after buying an additional 3,812 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in Schlumberger by 24.9% in the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 261,421 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $10,967,000 after buying an additional 52,134 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Schlumberger by 6.5% in the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 44,582 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,870,000 after buying an additional 2,713 shares during the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc bought a new stake in Schlumberger in the third quarter worth $206,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Schlumberger in the third quarter worth $200,000. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Schlumberger

In other Schlumberger news, VP Ugo Prechner sold 7,000 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.20, for a total value of $309,400.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 11,240 shares in the company, valued at $496,808. The trade was a 38.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Vijay Kasibhatla sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.94, for a total value of $1,098,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 49,595 shares in the company, valued at $2,179,204.30. The trade was a 33.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 290,772 shares of company stock worth $12,546,660 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on SLB shares. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Schlumberger from $60.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Schlumberger in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $47.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Schlumberger from $53.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Schlumberger from $49.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Schlumberger from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.81.

Schlumberger Price Performance

SLB opened at $39.47 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $40.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.70. Schlumberger Limited has a 1 year low of $36.52 and a 1 year high of $55.69. 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 $53.67 billion, a PE ratio of 12.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.47.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 in the previous year, the firm earned $0.86 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be paid a $0.285 dividend. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 5th. This is a positive change from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Schlumberger’s payout ratio is 36.66%.

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.