Ardevora Asset Management LLP Reduces Stock Position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Ardevora Asset Management LLP decreased its holdings in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) by 52.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 223,764 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 248,530 shares during the quarter. Schlumberger accounts for approximately 1.0% of Ardevora Asset Management LLP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Ardevora Asset Management LLP's holdings in Schlumberger were worth $11,645,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Schlumberger in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. MCF Advisors LLC increased its stake in Schlumberger by 1,355.9% in the 3rd quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 495 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 461 shares during the last quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Schlumberger in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Schlumberger in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Schlumberger in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Institutional investors own 81.99% of the company's stock.

Schlumberger Price Performance

NYSE:SLB traded down $1.09 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $49.85. The stock had a trading volume of 16,841,598 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,854,654. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $51.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $52.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.00. Schlumberger Limited has a one year low of $42.73 and a one year high of $62.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.56, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.60.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The oil and gas company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.75. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.68% and a return on equity of 21.97%. The firm had revenue of $8.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.70 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.63 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 5th will be issued a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. This is an increase from Schlumberger's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Schlumberger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Schlumberger

In other news, EVP Mogharbel Khaled Al sold 38,570 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.42, for a total transaction of $1,944,699.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 386,841 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,504,523.22. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 50,000 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.52, for a total transaction of $2,426,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 261,507 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,688,319.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mogharbel Khaled Al sold 38,570 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.42, for a total transaction of $1,944,699.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 386,841 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,504,523.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 172,191 shares of company stock valued at $8,636,322 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on SLB. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $74.00 to $70.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. HSBC restated a "buy" rating and set a $71.00 price target on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and set a $68.00 price target on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $70.31.

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.