Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 1,272,536 Shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 135,162,515 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 1,272,536 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 9.65% of Schlumberger worth $5,182,131,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of SLB. LPL Financial LLC grew its position in Schlumberger by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 790,906 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $30,323,000 after acquiring an additional 25,547 shares during the last quarter. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC boosted its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC now owns 14,453 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $554,000 after purchasing an additional 1,406 shares in the last quarter. English Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. English Capital Management LLC now owns 100,106 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $3,838,000 after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in Schlumberger in the 4th quarter worth $22,075,000. Finally, Sfmg LLC lifted its stake in Schlumberger by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 91,646 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $3,514,000 after purchasing an additional 3,248 shares during the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In other Schlumberger news, EVP Mogharbel Khaled Al sold 123,097 shares of Schlumberger 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 184,626 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,140,160.34. The trade was a 40.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bejar Carmen Rando sold 5,524 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.41, for a total value of $223,224.84. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 30,829 shares in the company, valued at $1,245,799.89. This trade represents a 15.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 290,772 shares of company stock valued at $12,546,660 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Schlumberger from $60.00 to $59.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Schlumberger from $60.00 to $59.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Schlumberger from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Atb Cap Markets cut shares of Schlumberger from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Six 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $55.69.

Schlumberger Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of SLB stock traded down $0.24 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $41.87. 12,887,648 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,188,001. The firm has a market cap of $56.93 billion, a PE ratio of 13.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company's 50 day moving average is $41.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.44. Schlumberger Limited has a 1 year low of $36.52 and a 1 year high of $55.65.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $9.28 billion for 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%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.86 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be given a dividend of $0.285 per share. This is a boost from Schlumberger's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 5th. Schlumberger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.66%.

Schlumberger 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.