Empowered Funds LLC Raises Stake in Schlumberger Limited $SLB

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Schlumberger Limited by 55.3%, purchasing an additional 145,777 shares, bringing its total holdings to 409,391 shares worth approximately $17.1 million.
• Schlumberger announced a quarterly dividend of $0.285 per share, with an annualized yield of 3.2%, effective for shareholders of record on September 3rd.
• Recent earnings results showed Schlumberger reported $0.74 EPS, slightly above analysts' expectations, but revenue decreased 6.5% year-over-year, totaling $8.55 billion.

Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) by 55.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 409,391 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after buying an additional 145,777 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in Schlumberger were worth $17,113,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of SLB. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Schlumberger by 21.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,611 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $253,000 after purchasing an additional 1,166 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Schlumberger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $238,000. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in Schlumberger by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 214,587 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $8,227,000 after purchasing an additional 5,259 shares in the last quarter. Ethic Inc. lifted its stake in Schlumberger by 48.8% in the 4th quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 60,797 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $2,331,000 after purchasing an additional 19,947 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth lifted its stake in Schlumberger by 32.9% in the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 148,638 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $5,777,000 after purchasing an additional 36,837 shares in the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SLB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 30th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $45.00 to $44.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Melius Research began coverage on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a "buy" rating and a $82.00 target price on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $52.86.

Schlumberger Trading Down 1.2%

Schlumberger stock traded down $0.45 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $35.58. The stock had a trading volume of 13,476,657 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,681,992. The stock has a market cap of $53.14 billion, a PE ratio of 12.18, a PEG ratio of 10.00 and a beta of 1.05. Schlumberger Limited has a 52 week low of $31.11 and a 52 week high of $46.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $34.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.75.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The oil and gas company reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $8.55 billion for 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 revenue was down 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.85 EPS. Analysts forecast that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Announces Dividend

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 issued a $0.285 dividend. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 3rd. Schlumberger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.04%.

Insider Transactions at Schlumberger

In other Schlumberger news, insider Dianne B. Ralston sold 39,727 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.08, for a total value of $1,433,350.16. Following the sale, the insider owned 202,201 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,295,412.08. This trade represents a 16.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.