Plato Investment Management Ltd Purchases 19,962 Shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) by 32.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 81,296 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 19,962 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Schlumberger were worth $3,407,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Schlumberger by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 134,150,168 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $7,352,771,000 after purchasing an additional 1,868,688 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its stake in Schlumberger by 72.3% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 88,950,956 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $4,875,402,000 after purchasing an additional 37,333,485 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Schlumberger by 14.1% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 85,986,039 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $4,712,897,000 after purchasing an additional 10,606,191 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 14.0% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 12,686,384 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $598,544,000 after buying an additional 1,560,684 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners grew its position in shares of Schlumberger by 35.8% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 11,640,827 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $635,883,000 after buying an additional 3,069,395 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.99% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 211,937 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,880,160.30. This trade represents a 22.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

Shares of Schlumberger stock traded down $0.14 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $43.45. 9,995,218 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,284,212. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.02, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.52. Schlumberger Limited has a 12-month low of $38.66 and a 12-month high of $55.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $44.76.

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

Schlumberger Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 4th will be paid a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 4th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.53%. Schlumberger's payout ratio is presently 35.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on SLB shares. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and set a $68.00 target price on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Schlumberger to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Schlumberger from $64.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Schlumberger from $74.00 to $62.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Citigroup decreased 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Schlumberger presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $60.97.

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.