Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Acquires 768,287 Shares of Schlumberger Limited $SLB

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management S.A. significantly increased its stake in Schlumberger Limited by 765.8%, acquiring an additional 768,287 shares, bringing its total holdings to 868,615 shares valued at approximately $29.36 million.
• During the second quarter, various institutional investors also boosted their holdings in Schlumberger, with 81.99% of the company's stock now owned by institutional entities.
• Schlumberger recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.285 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 3.3% and a payout ratio of 39.04%.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) by 765.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 868,615 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 768,287 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.06% of Schlumberger worth $29,359,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. First Command Advisory Services Inc. raised its stake in Schlumberger by 300.0% during the 1st quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 636 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 477 shares during the period. Atticus Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Schlumberger in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Schlumberger during the first quarter valued at $33,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its holdings in Schlumberger by 55.3% during the second quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 983 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the period. Finally, Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Schlumberger in the first quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors own 81.99% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Dianne B. Ralston sold 39,727 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.08, for a total transaction of $1,433,350.16. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 202,201 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,295,412.08. The trade was a 16.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

SLB traded down $0.48 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $33.95. 19,111,190 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,347,402. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.63, a P/E/G ratio of 9.56 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company's fifty day moving average price is $34.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $35.54. Schlumberger Limited has a 52-week low of $31.11 and a 52-week high of $46.15.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The oil and gas company reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 20.99%. 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 earned $0.85 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

Schlumberger Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.285 per share. 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 currently 39.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on SLB. Atb Cap Markets raised Schlumberger from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on Schlumberger from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 21st. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Schlumberger from $54.00 to $52.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Barclays cut their target price on Schlumberger from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on Schlumberger from $45.00 to $44.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $52.18.

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.