Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 1,553,867 Shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) by 42.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,148,460 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 1,553,867 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.16% of Schlumberger worth $89,806,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mutual Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Schlumberger by 97.2% during the 1st quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 10,359 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $433,000 after buying an additional 5,107 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its position in shares of Schlumberger by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 121,530 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $5,080,000 after acquiring an additional 470 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Counsel Inc raised its position in shares of Schlumberger by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Capital Investment Counsel Inc now owns 15,196 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $635,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its position in shares of Schlumberger by 471.8% in the 1st quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 478,850 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $20,016,000 after acquiring an additional 395,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Schlumberger by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 18,448 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $771,000 after buying an additional 1,190 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.99% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Schlumberger

In other news, Director La Chevardiere Patrick De sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.58, for a total value of $167,900.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 23,525 shares in the company, valued at approximately $789,969.50. This trade represents a 17.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Schlumberger Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of Schlumberger stock traded down $0.88 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $34.77. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,526,573 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,269,823. Schlumberger Limited has a 12 month low of $31.11 and a 12 month high of $50.94. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $34.53 and a 200 day moving average of $37.67. The company has a market capitalization of $47.30 billion, a PE ratio of 11.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.38 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.73 by ($0.01). Schlumberger had a net margin of 11.62% and a return on equity of 21.76%. The company had revenue of $8.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.75 earnings per share. Schlumberger's quarterly revenue was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Schlumberger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be paid a $0.285 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.28%. Schlumberger's dividend payout ratio is presently 38.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on SLB. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Schlumberger from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. 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 report on Thursday, June 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Schlumberger from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 30th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $53.00 to $48.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Schlumberger currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $50.85.

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.