Raymond James & Associates Trims Stake in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Raymond James & Associates cut its holdings in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 40.7% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 872,029 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 598,466 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates’ holdings in Schlumberger were worth $47,796,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Lakewood Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Schlumberger by 2.1% during the first quarter. Lakewood Asset Management LLC now owns 41,311 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,264,000 after buying an additional 850 shares during the period. Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Schlumberger during the 1st quarter worth $204,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in Schlumberger by 4.7% in the first quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 11,551 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $633,000 after purchasing an additional 520 shares during the last quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services raised its holdings in Schlumberger by 89.8% in the first quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services now owns 226,532 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $12,416,000 after purchasing an additional 107,206 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its position in shares of Schlumberger by 1.4% during the first quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 45,401 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,488,000 after buying an additional 641 shares during the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Schlumberger

In other Schlumberger news, CFO Stephane Biguet sold 6,250 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.64, for a total value of $304,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 242,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,816,212.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Schlumberger news, CFO Stephane Biguet sold 6,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.64, for a total transaction of $304,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 242,932 shares in the company, valued at $11,816,212.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.52, for a total value of $2,426,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 261,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,688,319.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SLB traded up $0.08 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $47.66. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 11,007,407 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,961,223. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.12 billion, a PE ratio of 15.83, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.64. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $51.63 and a 200 day moving average of $51.79. Schlumberger Limited has a twelve month low of $42.73 and a twelve month high of $62.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The oil and gas company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75. The business had revenue of $8.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.70 billion. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.88% and a net margin of 12.72%. The company’s revenue was up 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.63 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 5th will be given a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 5th. This is a positive change from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on SLB. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Schlumberger from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $68.00 to $53.00 in a research report on Monday, April 29th. HSBC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $71.00 price target on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Susquehanna restated a “positive” rating and set a $77.00 target price on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Schlumberger from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Schlumberger from $74.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.72.

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.