Earnest Partners LLC Cuts Stock Position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Earnest Partners LLC decreased its holdings in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) by 16.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 160,053 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 31,233 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC's holdings in Schlumberger were worth $6,136,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of SLB. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Schlumberger by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 75,986,195 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $2,913,312,000 after purchasing an additional 5,225,828 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 29,985,360 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,146,195,000 after buying an additional 1,377,134 shares during the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Schlumberger by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 27,836,555 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,067,254,000 after buying an additional 343,261 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Schlumberger during the 4th quarter worth about $735,398,000. Finally, Boston Partners grew its stake in Schlumberger by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 15,529,159 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $597,356,000 after purchasing an additional 1,405,186 shares in the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Barclays dropped their target price on Schlumberger from $53.00 to $48.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $57.00 price target on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Schlumberger from $60.00 to $59.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $53.32.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Aparna Raman sold 25,133 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.28, for a total transaction of $1,062,623.24. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 31,031 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,311,990.68. This represents a 44.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Gavin Rennick sold 26,990 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.92, for a total transaction of $1,104,430.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 53,584 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,192,657.28. This trade represents a 33.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 57,647 shares of company stock valued at $2,390,279 in the last 90 days. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Schlumberger Stock Down 2.4 %

SLB stock traded down $0.83 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $33.28. The stock had a trading volume of 21,852,623 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,265,975. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $38.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.20. Schlumberger Limited has a 1-year low of $31.11 and a 1-year high of $50.94. The company has a market capitalization of $45.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.70, a PEG ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.73 by ($0.01). Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. The business had revenue of $8.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.75 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Schlumberger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be issued a $0.285 dividend. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. Schlumberger's dividend payout ratio is currently 38.64%.

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.