The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Decreases Holdings in Schlumberger Limited $SLB

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its holdings in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 2.0%, selling 27,264 shares, and now owns approximately 1,335,137 shares valued at $55.8 million.
• Schlumberger reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.74, slightly exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.73, although revenue decreased by 6.5% year-over-year to $8.55 billion.
• The company announced a dividend of $0.285 per share, set to be paid on October 9th, with an annualized yield of 3.1%.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lessened its position in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) by 2.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,335,137 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 27,264 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.10% of Schlumberger worth $55,809,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SLB. First Command Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in Schlumberger by 300.0% during the first 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 during the period. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Schlumberger during the first quarter worth $33,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in Schlumberger during the first quarter worth $34,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Schlumberger during the first quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Schlumberger during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.99% of the company's stock.

Schlumberger Trading Up 2.6%

Shares of NYSE:SLB traded up $0.91 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $35.91. 9,129,235 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,134,862. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $34.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $36.08. 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 $48.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.30, a P/E/G ratio of 10.22 and a beta of 1.05. Schlumberger Limited has a fifty-two week low of $31.11 and a fifty-two week 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 analysts' consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $8.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.51 billion. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 20.99% and a net margin of 11.53%.The company's quarterly revenue was down 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.85 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 3rd. Schlumberger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on SLB. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered 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. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $45.00 to $44.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Schlumberger from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Atb Cap Markets upgraded Schlumberger from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $52.86.

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.