Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Invests $4.61 Million in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Key Points

• Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired 110,182 shares of Schlumberger Limited, valued at approximately $4.6 million, highlighting increased institutional interest in the company.
• Schlumberger reported earnings of $0.74 per share for the quarter, exceeding analyst estimates, although its year-over-year revenue declined by 6.5% to $8.55 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.285 per share, set for payment on October 9th, representing a 3.17% yield and a payout ratio of 39.04%.

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new stake in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 110,182 shares of the oil and gas company's stock, valued at approximately $4,606,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SLB. First Command Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 300.0% during the first quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 636 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares during the period. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Schlumberger during the first quarter valued at about $34,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position in shares of Schlumberger by 584.7% in the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 986 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 842 shares in the last quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Schlumberger during the first quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Schlumberger in the fourth quarter worth $40,000. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $54.00 to $52.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Schlumberger from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 20th. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Schlumberger presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $49.28.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director La Chevardiere Patrick De sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.58, for a total transaction of $167,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 23,525 shares in the company, valued at approximately $789,969.50. The trade was a 17.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

Schlumberger Trading Down 2.2%

NYSE:SLB traded down $0.76 on Friday, hitting $33.04. 16,956,251 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,710,303. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.32, a P/E/G ratio of 9.48 and a beta of 1.01. Schlumberger Limited has a 52 week low of $31.11 and a 52 week high of $46.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.31. The company's 50-day moving average price is $34.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $37.28.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The oil and gas company reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $8.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.51 billion. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 20.99% and a net margin of 11.53%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.85 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Schlumberger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.285 per share. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 3rd. Schlumberger's payout ratio is currently 39.04%.

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.