Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 5,037 Shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. reduced its holdings in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 10.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 42,511 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 5,037 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $1,630,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. ORG Partners LLC boosted its stake in Schlumberger by 393.5% during the third quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 607 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 484 shares during the period. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Schlumberger during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Schlumberger during the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. raised its position in Schlumberger by 1,068.3% in the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 958 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 876 shares during the period. Finally, J. Stern & Co. LLP bought a new stake in Schlumberger in the third quarter worth about $47,000. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on SLB. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Schlumberger from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Griffin Securities lowered Schlumberger from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $60.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.81.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Schlumberger news, insider Dianne B. Ralston sold 43,161 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.96, for a total transaction of $1,897,357.56. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 235,024 shares in the company, valued at $10,331,655.04. The trade was a 15.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mogharbel Khaled Al sold 123,097 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.09, for a total value 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 $8,140,160.34. The trade was a 40.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 198,258 shares of company stock valued at $8,732,604. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Schlumberger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SLB opened at $41.99 on Friday. Schlumberger Limited has a 52 week low of $36.52 and a 52 week high of $55.69. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $40.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.79. The company has a market cap of $59.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.50, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 EPS 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 analyst estimates of $9,241,140 billion. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 21.90%. The business’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.86 EPS. Research analysts predict that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 5th. This is an increase from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.72%. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio is 35.37%.

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.