Freestone Capital Holdings LLC Boosts Stock Position in Schlumberger Limited $SLB

Key Points

• Freestone Capital Holdings LLC increased its stake in Schlumberger Limited by 26.7%, now owning approximately 49,669 shares worth about $2.08 million.
• Recent analyst ratings demonstrate mixed sentiment, with Wells Fargo downgrading Schlumberger to a "hold," while UBS Group raised its price target, showing a consensus target price of $49.28.
• Schlumberger announced a quarterly dividend of $0.285 per share, yielding approximately 3.5%, with a payout ratio of 39.04%.

Freestone Capital Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) by 26.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 49,669 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 10,464 shares during the period. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC's holdings in Schlumberger were worth $2,076,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Schlumberger by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 75,986,195 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $2,913,312,000 after buying an additional 5,225,828 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in 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 worth $1,994,674,000 after buying an additional 39,474,501 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in Schlumberger by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 28,737,703 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,101,804,000 after buying an additional 3,119,543 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its stake 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 worth $824,160,000 after buying an additional 4,300,222 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,817,667 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $529,769,000 after purchasing an additional 1,192,399 shares in the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Schlumberger from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 20th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target 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. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective 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. Four research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $49.28.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SLB opened at $32.97 on Monday. The firm's fifty day moving average is $34.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.54. Schlumberger Limited has a 52-week low of $31.11 and a 52-week 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. The company has a market cap of $44.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.29, a P/E/G ratio of 9.15 and a beta of 1.03.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The oil and gas company reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.01. Schlumberger had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 20.99%. The firm had revenue of $8.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.85 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.285 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 3rd. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Schlumberger's payout ratio is currently 39.04%.

Insider Activity at Schlumberger

In related news, Director La Chevardiere Patrick De sold 5,000 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.58, for a total transaction of $167,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 23,525 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $789,969.50. The trade was a 17.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

About Schlumberger

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.

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