Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Sells 302,285 Shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc cut its holdings in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) by 54.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 251,339 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 302,285 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc's holdings in Schlumberger were worth $9,636,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Schlumberger in the 4th quarter worth about $735,398,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Schlumberger by 12,289.6% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 13,043,359 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $500,082,000 after acquiring an additional 12,938,082 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 7.4% during the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 5,225,828 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 28,737,703 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,101,804,000 after acquiring an additional 3,119,543 shares during the period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 43,028.0% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 2,652,804 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $101,708,000 after purchasing an additional 2,646,653 shares during the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Schlumberger from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Schlumberger from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Schlumberger from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Schlumberger from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and cut their price target for the company from $46.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Schlumberger presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $53.32.

Schlumberger Stock Up 3.6%

SLB opened at $35.80 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $48.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.45. The firm's fifty day moving average is $37.11 and its 200 day moving average is $39.69. Schlumberger Limited has a fifty-two week low of $31.11 and a fifty-two week high of $50.94.

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

Schlumberger Announces Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.18%. Schlumberger's dividend payout ratio is presently 38.64%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Schlumberger news, insider Gavin Rennick sold 26,990 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.92, for a total value of $1,104,430.80. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 53,584 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,192,657.28. The trade was a 33.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Aparna Raman sold 25,133 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 28th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,311,990.68. The trade was a 44.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.