Vontobel Holding Ltd. Sells 94,792 Shares of Schlumberger Limited $SLB

Key Points

• Vontobel Holding Ltd. reduced its stake in Schlumberger Limited by 23.0%, selling 94,792 shares in the second quarter, leaving it with 317,661 shares valued at approximately $10.7 million.
• Analysts have set varied price targets for Schlumberger, with Stifel Nicolaus lowering theirs from $54.00 to $52.00, while Melius initiated coverage with a new target of $82.00.
• Schlumberger recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.285 per share, with a yield of 3.4%, bringing its annualized dividend to $1.14.

Vontobel Holding Ltd. trimmed its position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) by 23.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 317,661 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 94,792 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd.'s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $10,737,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. First Command Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 300.0% in 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 purchasing an additional 477 shares in the last quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Schlumberger in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new position in Schlumberger in the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Atticus Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Schlumberger in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Schlumberger in the first quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SLB has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Schlumberger from $54.00 to $52.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Schlumberger from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 20th. Melius initiated coverage on Schlumberger in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $82.00 price target for the company. UBS Group decreased their price target on Schlumberger from $45.00 to $44.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on Schlumberger from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $52.18.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

SLB opened at $33.11 on Friday. Schlumberger Limited has a 12-month low of $31.11 and a 12-month high of $45.12. The stock has a market cap of $49.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.34, a PEG ratio of 9.44 and a beta of 0.97. The business has a 50 day moving average of $34.56 and a 200-day moving average of $34.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.01. The company 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%.The business's revenue was down 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.85 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Schlumberger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 3rd were 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 of this dividend was Wednesday, September 3rd. Schlumberger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Dianne B. Ralston sold 39,727 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider directly owned 202,201 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,295,412.08. This trade represents a 16.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

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.

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