Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC Lowers Position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 96,324 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 2,360 shares during the quarter. Schlumberger accounts for approximately 1.6% of Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $3,693,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 90,209,014 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,808,476,000 after acquiring an additional 528,279 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Schlumberger by 0.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 28,608,226 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,195,290,000 after purchasing an additional 239,966 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Schlumberger by 12,289.6% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 13,043,359 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $500,082,000 after buying an additional 12,938,082 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 20.6% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 11,213,944 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $470,425,000 after acquiring an additional 1,916,851 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Schlumberger by 0.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,990,797 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $335,214,000 after buying an additional 31,718 shares during the period. 81.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Schlumberger

In related news, EVP Mogharbel Khaled Al sold 123,097 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.09, for a total value of $5,427,346.73. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 184,626 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,140,160.34. This trade represents a 40.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.44, for a total transaction of $2,486,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 210,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,723,202.88. This represents a 22.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 258,258 shares of company stock worth $11,219,004 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Schlumberger Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of SLB stock opened at $40.87 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $40.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.66. Schlumberger Limited has a one year low of $36.52 and a one year high of $55.69. The company has a market capitalization of $57.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.14, a PEG ratio of 9.98 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.24 billion. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 21.90%. Schlumberger’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.86 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be given a $0.285 dividend. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 5th. This is a boost from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Schlumberger’s payout ratio is currently 35.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on SLB. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Schlumberger to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Griffin Securities lowered Schlumberger from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $53.00 to $48.00 in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Schlumberger from $60.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.81.

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.