VeraBank N.A. Trims Stock Position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

VeraBank N.A. lowered its stake in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 5.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,400 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 410 shares during the period. VeraBank N.A.’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $310,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Duality Advisers LP purchased a new position in shares of Schlumberger in the 1st quarter valued at about $861,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. increased its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 13.1% in the 1st quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 12,364 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $681,000 after purchasing an additional 1,435 shares in the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 43.1% in the 1st quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,224 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $396,000 after purchasing an additional 2,176 shares in the last quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 42.0% in the 1st quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 20,995 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,151,000 after purchasing an additional 6,211 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 29,020 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,591,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Schlumberger

In other Schlumberger news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.90, for a total value of $2,514,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 211,937 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,880,160.30. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

NYSE:SLB traded down $0.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $43.18. The stock had a trading volume of 13,598,067 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,230,377. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.88, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.52. Schlumberger Limited has a twelve month low of $38.66 and a twelve month high of $55.69. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $44.87.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The oil and gas company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $9.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.27 billion. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.44% and a return on equity of 21.84%. The firm’s revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.78 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 4th will be given a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 4th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.55%. Schlumberger’s payout ratio is currently 35.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on SLB shares. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Schlumberger from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $69.00 price objective on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. UBS Group cut their price objective on Schlumberger from $63.00 to $57.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Bank of America cut their price objective on Schlumberger from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price objective (down from $62.00) on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.97.

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.