American Assets Inc. Purchases New Stake in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Key Points

• American Assets Inc. has invested approximately $836,000 in Schlumberger Limited, purchasing 20,000 shares, making it the firm's 15th largest position.
• In recent analyst reports, multiple firms have decreased their price targets for Schlumberger, with the average target now at $49.28 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Schlumberger plans to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.285 per share on October 9th, representing an annual yield of 3.5% based on its current stock price.

American Assets Inc. purchased a new position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 20,000 shares of the oil and gas company's stock, valued at approximately $836,000. Schlumberger accounts for approximately 0.3% of American Assets Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in Schlumberger by 13.7% in the 1st quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 7,736 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $323,000 after acquiring an additional 932 shares in the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 5.2% in the first quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 8,919 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $373,000 after acquiring an additional 437 shares in the last quarter. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new position in Schlumberger during the first quarter valued at about $94,000. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 950.7% during the 1st quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC now owns 88,639 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $3,705,000 after purchasing an additional 80,203 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sfmg LLC grew its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 10.2% during the 1st quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 100,960 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $4,220,000 after acquiring an additional 9,314 shares during the period. 81.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SLB has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 21st. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. 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 report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Schlumberger from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $49.28.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director La Chevardiere Patrick De sold 5,000 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the director directly owned 23,525 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $789,969.50. This trade represents a 17.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Schlumberger Price Performance

Shares of Schlumberger stock traded down $0.62 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $32.88. 11,461,813 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 19,161,106. The stock has a market cap of $44.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.26, a PEG ratio of 9.29 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Schlumberger Limited has a 52 week low of $31.11 and a 52 week high of $46.16. The firm's fifty day moving average is $34.76 and its 200-day moving average is $37.08.

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

Schlumberger Announces Dividend

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

Schlumberger 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.