Great Lakes Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Schlumberger Limited $SLB

Key Points

• Great Lakes Advisors LLC increased its stake in Schlumberger Limited by 2.2% during Q1, owning 2,604,664 shares worth approximately $107.79 million.
• Schlumberger's stock currently has a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating and an average target price of $52.86, with analysts divided on their price targets.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.285 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 3.2%.

Great Lakes Advisors LLC grew its stake in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) by 2.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,604,664 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after acquiring an additional 56,207 shares during the quarter. Schlumberger comprises about 1.0% of Great Lakes Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Great Lakes Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.19% of Schlumberger worth $107,790,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SLB. First Command Advisory Services Inc. grew 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 last quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Schlumberger during the 1st quarter worth $33,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new position in Schlumberger during the 1st quarter worth $34,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Schlumberger during the 1st quarter worth $38,000. Finally, N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Schlumberger during the 1st quarter worth $40,000. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Atb Cap Markets upgraded Schlumberger from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Schlumberger from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Susquehanna lowered their price target on Schlumberger from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Schlumberger from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut Schlumberger from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Schlumberger has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $52.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Dianne B. Ralston sold 39,727 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.08, for a total value of $1,433,350.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 202,201 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,295,412.08. This represents a 16.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

Shares of SLB stock traded down $0.45 on Friday, hitting $35.58. The company had a trading volume of 13,476,657 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,681,992. The firm has a market cap of $53.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.00 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $34.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $35.79. 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 twelve month low of $31.11 and a twelve month high of $46.15.

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

Schlumberger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 3rd will be issued a $0.285 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 3rd. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. Schlumberger's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.