Schlumberger Limited $SLB Shares Sold by Scharf Investments LLC

Key Points

• Scharf Investments LLC significantly reduced its stake in Schlumberger Limited by 64.7% in the second quarter, holding 583,633 shares valued at approximately $19.73 million.
• Insider Dianne B. Ralston sold 39,727 shares of Schlumberger stock at an average price of $36.08, resulting in a decrease of 16.42% in her ownership.
• Schlumberger declared a dividend of $0.285 per share, payable on October 9th, with an annualized yield of 3.3%.

Scharf Investments LLC cut its position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) by 64.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 583,633 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 1,070,262 shares during the quarter. Schlumberger comprises about 0.6% of Scharf Investments LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Scharf Investments LLC's holdings in Schlumberger were worth $19,727,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Schlumberger by 478.8% in 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 during the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 27.7% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 19,829,381 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $824,160,000 after acquiring an additional 4,300,222 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Schlumberger by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 14,422,499 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $602,860,000 after purchasing an additional 604,832 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Schlumberger by 22.8% during the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,659,177 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $320,154,000 after acquiring an additional 281,937 shares during the period. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Dianne B. Ralston sold 39,727 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 12th. The shares were 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 directly owned 202,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,295,412.08. This represents a 16.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Schlumberger Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:SLB traded down $0.48 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $33.95. 19,111,190 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,347,402. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Schlumberger Limited has a 1 year low of $31.11 and a 1 year high of $46.15. The firm has a market cap of $50.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.63, a P/E/G ratio of 9.56 and a beta of 1.05. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $34.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $35.49.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The oil and gas company reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 20.99%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.85 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

Schlumberger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 3rd will be given a $0.285 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 3rd. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Schlumberger's dividend payout ratio is presently 39.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Schlumberger from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Atb Cap Markets upgraded Schlumberger from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Zacks Research raised shares of Schlumberger from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Melius Research began coverage on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $82.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Melius started coverage on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $82.00 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $52.18.

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.