Rafferty Asset Management LLC Trims Stock Position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 325,726 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 12,564 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $12,488,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. CX Institutional increased its holdings in Schlumberger by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. CX Institutional now owns 10,370 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $398,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the period. TCW Group Inc. increased its holdings in Schlumberger by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 19,797 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $759,000 after buying an additional 259 shares during the period. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Schlumberger by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 56,714 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,174,000 after buying an additional 262 shares during the period. Cromwell Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Schlumberger by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 4,350 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $167,000 after buying an additional 283 shares during the period. Finally, Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. increased its holdings in Schlumberger by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. now owns 14,775 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $566,000 after buying an additional 293 shares during the period. 81.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Schlumberger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $46.00 to $44.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Schlumberger has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $52.44.

Insider Activity at Schlumberger

In related news, insider Gavin Rennick sold 26,990 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.92, for a total transaction of $1,104,430.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 53,584 shares in the company, valued at $2,192,657.28. The trade was a 33.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Aparna Raman sold 25,133 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.28, for a total transaction of $1,062,623.24. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 31,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,311,990.68. This represents a 44.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Schlumberger Trading Up 0.0%

NYSE:SLB opened at $35.74 on Friday. Schlumberger Limited has a 12 month low of $31.11 and a 12 month high of $50.94. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.57. 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 has a market capitalization of $48.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.49, a PEG ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.06.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.73 by ($0.01). Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. The company had revenue of $8.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.75 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Schlumberger Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.285 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.19%. Schlumberger’s payout ratio is currently 38.64%.

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.