Northern Trust Corp Acquires 604,832 Shares of Schlumberger Limited $SLB

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Schlumberger by 4.4% in Q1, acquiring an additional 604,832 shares, now owning 14,422,499 shares valued at approximately $602.86 million.
• Recent analyst ratings for Schlumberger reflect mixed sentiments, with Barclays lowering its price target from $47 to $46 while Wells Fargo downgraded its rating from "strong-buy" to "hold."
• Schlumberger announced a quarterly dividend of $0.285 per share, which will be paid on October 9th, representing an annualized yield of 3.4%.

Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) by 4.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,422,499 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 604,832 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned 1.06% of Schlumberger worth $602,860,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Schlumberger by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 75,986,195 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $2,913,312,000 after purchasing an additional 5,225,828 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Schlumberger by 478.8% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 47,719,476 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,994,674,000 after purchasing an additional 39,474,501 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in Schlumberger by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 28,737,703 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,101,804,000 after purchasing an additional 3,119,543 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in Schlumberger by 27.7% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 19,829,381 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $824,160,000 after purchasing an additional 4,300,222 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Schlumberger by 22.8% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,989,115 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $375,738,000 after purchasing an additional 1,667,203 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.99% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Melius Research assumed coverage on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Wednesday. They set a "buy" rating and a $82.00 price target on the stock. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 21st. Melius initiated coverage on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Wednesday. They set a "buy" rating and a $82.00 price objective on the stock. Susquehanna reduced 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $52.86.

Schlumberger Price Performance

Shares of Schlumberger stock traded up $1.7650 on Friday, hitting $35.5750. 16,023,117 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,241,825. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $36.40. Schlumberger Limited has a 52 week low of $31.11 and a 52 week high of $46.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.26 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.31.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.01. Schlumberger had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 20.99%. The company had revenue of $8.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.85 earnings per share. Schlumberger's quarterly revenue was down 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect 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 given a $0.285 dividend. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 3rd. Schlumberger's payout ratio is currently 39.04%.

Schlumberger Company 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.