Teacher Retirement System of Texas Buys 395,100 Shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its position in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) by 471.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 478,850 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after buying an additional 395,100 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings in Schlumberger were worth $20,016,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd increased its holdings in Schlumberger by 32.2% during the fourth quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 71,390 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $2,737,000 after buying an additional 17,405 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Schlumberger by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 29,985,360 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,146,195,000 after purchasing an additional 1,377,134 shares during the period. Scharf Investments LLC boosted its position in Schlumberger by 20.5% during the first quarter. Scharf Investments LLC now owns 1,653,895 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $69,133,000 after purchasing an additional 281,773 shares during the period. Integrated Advisors Network LLC boosted its position in Schlumberger by 810.4% during the first quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 75,163 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $3,142,000 after purchasing an additional 66,907 shares during the period. Finally, Miller Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Schlumberger during the fourth quarter worth $375,000. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on SLB shares. Atb Cap Markets raised shares of Schlumberger from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $46.00 to $43.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued 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 an average target price of $50.85.

Schlumberger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SLB traded down $0.29 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $35.63. 7,240,714 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,799,422. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $34.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $37.67. The company has a market cap of $48.46 billion, a PE ratio of 12.08, 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 quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.24. Schlumberger Limited has a 1-year low of $31.11 and a 1-year high of $50.94.

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

Schlumberger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.285 per share. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 4th. Schlumberger's payout ratio is presently 38.64%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director La Chevardiere Patrick De sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 represents a 17.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.