Prudential PLC Trims Stock Position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Key Points

• Prudential PLC reduced its stake in Schlumberger by 48.9% in Q1, resulting in holdings worth approximately $12.01 million after selling 274,951 shares.
• Schlumberger's recent earnings report showed a net margin of 11.53% with revenue of $8.55 billion for the quarter, despite a 6.5% decline from the previous year.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.285, representing a 3.5% dividend yield, to be paid on October 9th to shareholders on record by September 3rd.

Prudential PLC decreased its holdings in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) by 48.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 287,239 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 274,951 shares during the period. Prudential PLC's holdings in Schlumberger were worth $12,007,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. First Command Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Schlumberger by 300.0% in 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 period. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Schlumberger in the 1st quarter worth $33,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new position in Schlumberger in the 1st quarter worth $34,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in Schlumberger by 584.7% in the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 986 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 842 shares during the period. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Schlumberger in the 1st quarter worth $38,000. Institutional investors own 81.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Schlumberger from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 20th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $54.00 to $52.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $49.28.

Insider Activity

In other Schlumberger 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 23,525 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $789,969.50. This trade represents a 17.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

Schlumberger Stock Down 0.9%

SLB traded down $0.31 during trading on Thursday, hitting $33.24. The stock had a trading volume of 16,282,212 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,124,866. The company has a market capitalization of $44.92 billion, a PE ratio of 11.38, a PEG ratio of 9.31 and a beta of 1.03. Schlumberger Limited has a twelve month low of $31.11 and a twelve month 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $34.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.65.

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

Schlumberger Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 9th. Shareholders 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 dividend yield of 3.4%. Schlumberger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.