ING Groep NV Acquires 389,642 Shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

ING Groep NV lifted its position in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) by 257.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 540,737 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after buying an additional 389,642 shares during the period. ING Groep NV's holdings in Schlumberger were worth $28,140,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of SLB. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Schlumberger during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Schlumberger by 1,180.4% in the 4th quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 653 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 602 shares during the period. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased its stake in Schlumberger by 64.3% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 746 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the period. American National Bank increased its stake in Schlumberger by 745.5% in the 4th quarter. American National Bank now owns 744 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 656 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Bridge LLC increased its stake in Schlumberger by 39.4% in the 4th quarter. Legacy Bridge LLC now owns 853 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the period. 81.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SLB has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Schlumberger from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. HSBC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $71.00 target price on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Schlumberger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Barclays reduced their target price on Schlumberger from $74.00 to $70.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Schlumberger currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $68.72.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SLB traded up $0.17 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $48.59. 5,534,630 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,488,548. The company has a market cap of $69.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.37. Schlumberger Limited has a one year low of $42.73 and a one year high of $62.12. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $51.44 and a 200 day moving average of $51.09.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The oil and gas company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75. The company had revenue of $8.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.70 billion. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.88% and a net margin of 12.72%. Schlumberger's revenue for the quarter was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.63 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.51 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 5th. This is a boost from Schlumberger's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Schlumberger's dividend payout ratio is 36.54%.

Insider Activity at Schlumberger

In other Schlumberger news, CTO Demosthenis Pafitis sold 63,095 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.26, for a total value of $3,044,964.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 33,421 shares in the company, valued at $1,612,897.46. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Schlumberger news, CTO Demosthenis Pafitis sold 63,095 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.26, for a total value of $3,044,964.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 33,421 shares in the company, valued at $1,612,897.46. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Stephane Biguet sold 6,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.64, for a total value of $304,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 242,932 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,816,212.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 119,345 shares of company stock worth $5,774,965. 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.