Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Makes New Investment in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 429,198 shares of the oil and gas company's stock, valued at approximately $16,422,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Schlumberger by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 29,985,360 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,146,195,000 after purchasing an additional 1,377,134 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Schlumberger by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 27,836,555 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,067,254,000 after acquiring an additional 343,261 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Schlumberger during the 4th quarter valued at about $735,398,000. Boston Partners raised its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 15,529,159 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $597,356,000 after purchasing an additional 1,405,186 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Schlumberger by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 15,396,967 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $590,320,000 after purchasing an additional 1,700,203 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.99% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on SLB. Evercore ISI reissued an "in-line" rating and set a $44.00 price target (down from $62.00) on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Schlumberger from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $46.00 to $44.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $47.00 price target on the stock. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Schlumberger from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Schlumberger from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $54.68.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

SLB traded up $0.31 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $32.85. 7,843,059 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,924,726. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.11. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $40.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Schlumberger Limited has a 1-year low of $31.11 and a 1-year high of $54.63.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.24 billion. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. Schlumberger's quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.86 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th were issued a $0.285 dividend. This is a boost from Schlumberger's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 5th. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.47%. Schlumberger's payout ratio is presently 36.66%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Vijay Kasibhatla sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.94, for a total transaction of $1,098,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 49,595 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,179,204.30. This represents a 33.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Mogharbel Khaled Al sold 123,097 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.09, for a total transaction of $5,427,346.73. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 184,626 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,140,160.34. The trade was a 40.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 315,905 shares of company stock worth $13,609,283. Company 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.