Bright Rock Capital Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Schlumberger Limited $SLB

Key Points

• Bright Rock Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 51.4%, holding a total of 280,000 shares valued at about $9.46 million as of the latest filing.
• Brokerages have adjusted their ratings on Schlumberger, with Wells Fargo downgrading the stock from "strong-buy" to "hold," while others have set target prices averaging $52.18.
• Schlumberger recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.285, translating to an annual yield of 3.3% and demonstrating a payout ratio of 39.04%.

Bright Rock Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) by 51.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 280,000 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after acquiring an additional 95,000 shares during the quarter. Schlumberger accounts for approximately 1.9% of Bright Rock Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Bright Rock Capital Management LLC's holdings in Schlumberger were worth $9,464,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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. Boston Partners increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 4,300,222 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Schlumberger by 211.1% during the first quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 5,992,997 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $250,507,000 after acquiring an additional 4,066,500 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Schlumberger during the first quarter valued at approximately $169,232,000. Finally, Banque Transatlantique SA increased its position in shares of Schlumberger by 21,737.8% during the first quarter. Banque Transatlantique SA now owns 1,859,274 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $71,821,000 after acquiring an additional 1,850,760 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.99% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SLB has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $45.00 to $44.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Atb Cap Markets raised shares of Schlumberger from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $52.18.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Dianne B. Ralston sold 39,727 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.08, for a total transaction of $1,433,350.16. Following 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Schlumberger Price Performance

Shares of Schlumberger stock traded down $0.47 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $33.96. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,206,394 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,286,191. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $34.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $35.54. Schlumberger Limited has a one year low of $31.11 and a one year high of $46.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market cap of $50.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.63, a P/E/G ratio of 9.56 and a beta of 1.05.

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

Schlumberger Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.285 per share. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 3rd. Schlumberger's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.