ING Groep NV Sells 492,923 Shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

ING Groep NV lessened its position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) by 89.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 60,902 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 492,923 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV's holdings in Schlumberger were worth $2,555,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. ORG Partners LLC lifted its stake in Schlumberger by 393.5% in the third quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 607 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 484 shares during the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC grew its holdings in Schlumberger by 204.2% during the second quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 584 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 392 shares during the period. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new position in Schlumberger during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Riverview Trust Co increased its position in Schlumberger by 90.6% during the second quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 648 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Community Trust NA raised its stake in Schlumberger by 264.0% in the second quarter. First Community Trust NA now owns 728 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 528 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.99% of the company's stock.

Schlumberger Trading Down 0.6 %

Schlumberger stock traded down $0.27 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $43.18. 9,632,621 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,737,082. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $42.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $44.69. Schlumberger Limited has a twelve month low of $38.66 and a twelve month high of $55.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.98 billion, a PE ratio of 13.88, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.52.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The oil and gas company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $9.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.27 billion. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.84% and a net margin of 12.44%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.78 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Schlumberger Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 4th will be issued a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 4th. Schlumberger's payout ratio is 35.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on SLB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $64.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Schlumberger from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays lowered their target price on Schlumberger from $67.00 to $63.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Schlumberger from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised Schlumberger to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $60.97.

Insider Buying and Selling at Schlumberger

In other news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.90, for a total value of $2,514,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 211,937 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,880,160.30. This represents a 22.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

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.