Russell Investments Group Ltd. Has $221.53 Million Stock Holdings in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. trimmed its position in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 8.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,256,707 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 378,591 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $221,533,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Schlumberger in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Schlumberger during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. MCF Advisors LLC increased its stake in Schlumberger by 1,355.9% during the third quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 495 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 461 shares during the period. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 1,180.4% in the 4th quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 653 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 602 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 64.3% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 746 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on SLB shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Schlumberger from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $66.00 to $64.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Schlumberger from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on Schlumberger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Schlumberger has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.52, for a total transaction of $2,426,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 261,507 shares in the company, valued at $12,688,319.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Katharina Beumelburg sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.62, for a total transaction of $420,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 15,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $819,872.22. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.52, for a total transaction of $2,426,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 261,507 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,688,319.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 90,545 shares of company stock valued at $4,458,430 in the last ninety days. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Schlumberger Stock Down 0.5 %

NYSE:SLB traded down $0.24 on Friday, reaching $49.20. 8,250,858 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,808,635. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $51.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $52.17. Schlumberger Limited has a 12 month low of $42.73 and a 12 month high of $62.12. The company has a market capitalization of $70.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.35, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

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

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 5th will be given a $0.275 dividend. This is a positive change from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 5th. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio is 36.54%.

Schlumberger Company 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.