AIA Group Ltd Sells 27,060 Shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Key Points

• AIA Group Ltd has reduced its stake in Schlumberger Limited by 27.2%, selling 27,060 shares to hold a total of 72,437 shares valued at $3,028,000.
• Other hedge funds have shown varied investment strategies, with Charles Schwab Investment Management increasing its position by 478.8% this quarter, now holding nearly 47.7 million shares worth approximately $1.99 billion.
• Schlumberger recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.285, reflecting an annualized dividend of $1.14 and a yield of 3.5%.

AIA Group Ltd decreased its holdings in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) by 27.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 72,437 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 27,060 shares during the quarter. AIA Group Ltd's holdings in Schlumberger were worth $3,028,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 21.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,611 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $253,000 after purchasing an additional 1,166 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Schlumberger in the 4th quarter valued at $479,000. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Schlumberger in the 4th quarter valued at $366,000. Synovus Financial Corp grew its stake in Schlumberger by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 110,947 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $4,254,000 after buying an additional 1,230 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mariner LLC grew its stake in Schlumberger by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 295,864 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $11,343,000 after buying an additional 2,794 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.99% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price 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. Susquehanna lowered 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. Atb Cap Markets raised shares of Schlumberger from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $49.28.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Schlumberger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SLB traded down $0.31 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $33.24. 16,282,212 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,436,465. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $34.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $36.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.92 billion, a PE ratio of 11.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.14 and a beta of 1.03. Schlumberger Limited has a 12 month low of $31.11 and a 12 month 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.

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

Schlumberger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 3rd will be given a $0.285 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 3rd. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. Schlumberger's payout ratio is 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.