Schlumberger Limited $SLB Shares Purchased by ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V.

Key Points

• ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. increased its stake in Schlumberger Limited by 17.5%, owning approximately 1.57 million shares worth $53.2 million, making it the 24th largest position in their investment portfolio.
• Wells Fargo downgraded Schlumberger from a "strong-buy" to a "hold" rating, while analysts maintain a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a target price of $52.18.
• Schlumberger announced a quarterly dividend of $0.285 per share, representing a 3.3% yield and a payout ratio of 39.04%.

ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. raised its stake in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) by 17.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,574,890 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after acquiring an additional 234,684 shares during the quarter. Schlumberger makes up approximately 0.7% of ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. owned approximately 0.12% of Schlumberger worth $53,227,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SLB. First Command Advisory Services Inc. grew 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 valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 477 shares in the last quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Schlumberger in the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Schlumberger in the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Atticus Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Schlumberger in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Schlumberger in the 1st quarter valued at $38,000. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SLB has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Schlumberger from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 20th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Schlumberger from $54.00 to $52.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Atb Cap Markets raised Schlumberger from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. UBS Group cut their target price on Schlumberger from $45.00 to $44.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Finally, Melius Research began coverage on Schlumberger in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a "buy" rating and a $82.00 target price on the stock. Two 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $52.18.

Insider Transactions at Schlumberger

In related news, insider Dianne B. Ralston sold 39,727 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction on Friday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.08, for a total transaction of $1,433,350.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 202,201 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,295,412.08. The trade was a 16.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Schlumberger Stock Up 2.0%

SLB opened at $35.07 on Thursday. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $34.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.01, a P/E/G ratio of 9.54 and a beta of 0.97. Schlumberger Limited has a 12 month low of $31.11 and a 12 month high of $46.15.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $8.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.51 billion. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 20.99% and a net margin of 11.53%.Schlumberger's revenue was down 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.85 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 3rd. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. Schlumberger's payout ratio is currently 39.04%.

About Schlumberger

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.

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