IFM Investors Pty Ltd Lowers Holdings in Schlumberger Limited $SLB

Key Points

• IFM Investors Pty Ltd sold 22,274 shares of Schlumberger Limited, reducing its stake by 6.8%, and now holds 303,873 shares worth approximately $12.7 million.
• Schlumberger announced a quarterly dividend of $0.285 per share, with an ex-dividend date on September 3rd, representing an annualized yield of 3.2%.
• Schlumberger reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the last quarter, beating expectations of $0.73 EPS, despite a 6.5% decline in revenue compared to the same quarter last year.

IFM Investors Pty Ltd cut its stake in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) by 6.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 303,873 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 22,274 shares during the quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd's holdings in Schlumberger were worth $12,702,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vident Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 27,838 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,067,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares during the period. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Schlumberger by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC now owns 7,843 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $301,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the period. EntryPoint Capital LLC boosted its stake in Schlumberger by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 7,348 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $307,000 after purchasing an additional 316 shares during the period. Heritage Wealth Management Inc. Texas boosted its stake in Schlumberger by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Heritage Wealth Management Inc. Texas now owns 14,736 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $616,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares during the period. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC boosted its stake in Schlumberger by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 22,633 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $946,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the period. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Dianne B. Ralston sold 39,727 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider owned 202,201 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,295,412.08. This represents a 16.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on SLB. Susquehanna dropped their price target on Schlumberger from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Stifel Nicolaus dropped 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. Barclays dropped their price target on Schlumberger from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Melius assumed coverage on Schlumberger in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $82.00 price target for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Schlumberger from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $52.86.

Schlumberger Stock Down 1.2%

SLB stock traded down $0.45 during trading on Friday, reaching $35.58. 13,476,657 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,681,992. 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 capitalization of $53.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.00 and a beta of 1.05. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $34.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $35.79. Schlumberger Limited has a 12 month low of $31.11 and a 12 month high of $46.15.

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

Schlumberger Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 3rd will be paid 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 dividend yield of 3.2%. Schlumberger's payout ratio is currently 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.