California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 82,303 Shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

California Public Employees Retirement System lowered its stake in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,578,983 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 82,303 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.18% of Schlumberger worth $134,210,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SLB. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in Schlumberger by 79.7% during the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 4,919,990 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $286,835,000 after buying an additional 2,182,706 shares in the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 34.9% in the third quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 8,056,492 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $469,693,000 after purchasing an additional 2,085,506 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 30.5% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,370,835 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $488,020,000 after purchasing an additional 1,954,620 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 156.3% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 2,974,987 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $173,442,000 after purchasing an additional 1,814,440 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Wealth Planning LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 48.2% in the third quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 5,555,662 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $323,895,000 after purchasing an additional 1,807,061 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SLB has been the topic of several recent research reports. HSBC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $71.00 price target on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Thursday, April 4th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $65.00 price target on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $74.00 to $70.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $69.67.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SLB traded down $0.44 on Wednesday, reaching $49.11. 10,163,834 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,262,749. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.46, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.60. Schlumberger Limited has a fifty-two week low of $42.73 and a fifty-two week high of $62.12. The business's 50-day moving average is $51.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $52.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The oil and gas company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75. The company had revenue of $8.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.70 billion. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.72% and a return on equity of 21.88%. The firm's revenue was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.63 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.5 EPS for the current year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 5th will be issued a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 5th. This is a boost from Schlumberger's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Schlumberger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.52, for a total value of $2,426,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 261,507 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,688,319.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.52, for a total value of $2,426,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 261,507 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,688,319.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Kevin Fyfe sold 20,223 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.05, for a total transaction of $1,052,607.15. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 31,198 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,623,855.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 110,768 shares of company stock valued at $5,511,037 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

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.