ING Groep NV Grows Holdings in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

ING Groep NV raised its position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 296.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 241,252 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 180,350 shares during the period. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $9,250,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky increased its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 25.9% during the third quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 761,875 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $31,961,000 after purchasing an additional 156,698 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 27.0% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 76,838 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,223,000 after purchasing an additional 16,350 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 8.7% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 817,771 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $34,305,000 after purchasing an additional 65,318 shares in the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 269.1% during the third quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 19,718 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $827,000 after purchasing an additional 14,376 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 26.0% during the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 307,040 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $12,880,000 after purchasing an additional 63,413 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Schlumberger news, Director Vijay Kasibhatla sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.94, for a total value of $1,098,500.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 49,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,179,204.30. This represents a 33.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Dianne B. Ralston sold 43,161 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.96, for a total transaction of $1,897,357.56. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 235,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,331,655.04. This represents a 15.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 263,782 shares of company stock valued at $11,442,229 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

Shares of SLB stock opened at $41.73 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $40.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.45. Schlumberger Limited has a one year low of $36.52 and a one year high of $55.69. The firm has a market cap of $58.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.42, a P/E/G ratio of 10.00 and a beta of 1.51.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.02. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 21.90%. The firm had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.24 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.86 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.285 per share. This is an increase from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 5th. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.66%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on SLB shares. Atb Cap Markets lowered shares of Schlumberger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $47.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $49.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Schlumberger to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $60.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.81.

Schlumberger Company 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.