AQR Capital Management LLC Acquires 863,077 Shares of Schlumberger Limited $SLB

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Schlumberger Limited by 71.0%, acquiring an additional 863,077 shares, bringing its total ownership to approximately 2,078,000 shares valued at $86.64 million.
• Multiple hedge funds, including Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc., also significantly increased their positions in Schlumberger during the first quarter, indicating strong institutional interest in the company.
• Schlumberger announced a quarterly dividend of $0.285 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 3.2%, with the payment set for October 9th.

AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) by 71.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,077,986 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after acquiring an additional 863,077 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 0.15% of Schlumberger worth $86,642,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Schlumberger by 478.8% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 47,719,476 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,994,674,000 after buying an additional 39,474,501 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its position in Schlumberger by 27.7% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 19,829,381 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $824,160,000 after purchasing an additional 4,300,222 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Schlumberger by 211.1% during the first quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 5,992,997 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $250,507,000 after purchasing an additional 4,066,500 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Schlumberger in the first quarter valued at about $169,232,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Schlumberger by 3,112.1% during the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 3,627,051 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $139,059,000 after acquiring an additional 3,514,134 shares in the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on SLB. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Schlumberger from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Susquehanna cut their price objective on Schlumberger from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Melius Research started coverage on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a "buy" rating and a $82.00 target price on the stock. Atb Cap Markets raised Schlumberger from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Schlumberger from $54.00 to $52.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Schlumberger has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $52.86.

Schlumberger Trading Down 0.6%

Schlumberger stock traded down $0.21 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $35.81. 13,436,375 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,279,266. Schlumberger Limited has a fifty-two week low of $31.11 and a fifty-two week high of $46.15. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $48.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.26, a PEG ratio of 9.94 and a beta of 1.05. The firm's 50 day moving average is $34.75 and its 200-day moving average is $35.95.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The oil and gas company reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.01. The firm 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 business's quarterly revenue 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. On average, analysts predict that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.285 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 3rd. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. 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.