Principal Financial Group Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,487,067 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after acquiring an additional 332,500 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.32% of Schlumberger worth $188,232,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in SLB. ORG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 393.5% in the 3rd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 607 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 484 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Schlumberger in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Schlumberger in the third quarter valued at about $37,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. raised its stake in Schlumberger by 1,068.3% during the third quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 958 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 876 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J. Stern & Co. LLP bought a new position in shares of Schlumberger in the third quarter worth about $47,000. 81.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Schlumberger

In other 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 211,937 shares in the company, 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 at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

Schlumberger Stock Down 0.2 %

Schlumberger stock traded down $0.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $36.83. The stock had a trading volume of 36,341,695 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,325,839. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.01 billion, a PE ratio of 11.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.51. Schlumberger Limited has a fifty-two week low of $36.52 and a fifty-two week high of $55.69. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $42.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.48.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The oil and gas company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.78 EPS. Schlumberger's revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.99%. Schlumberger's payout ratio is 35.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on SLB. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $69.00 price objective on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 14th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Schlumberger from $63.00 to $57.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Schlumberger from $49.00 to $46.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Atb Cap Markets downgraded Schlumberger from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $58.85.

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.