Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 16.6% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 180,901 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 25,713 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $7,589,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Schlumberger during the 2nd quarter valued at about $257,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Schlumberger by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 817,771 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $34,305,000 after purchasing an additional 65,318 shares during the period. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Schlumberger by 269.1% during the 3rd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 19,718 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $827,000 after purchasing an additional 14,376 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in Schlumberger by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 1,901,713 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $89,723,000 after purchasing an additional 11,813 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its position in Schlumberger by 26.0% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 307,040 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $12,880,000 after purchasing an additional 63,413 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Schlumberger Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of SLB stock opened at $43.77 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $42.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $44.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The stock has a market cap of $61.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.07, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.52. Schlumberger Limited has a twelve month low of $38.66 and a twelve month high of $55.69.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The oil and gas company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.01. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.44% and a return on equity of 21.84%. The company had revenue of $9.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.78 earnings per share. Schlumberger’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Schlumberger Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 4th will be given a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 4th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.51%. Schlumberger’s payout ratio is currently 35.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Schlumberger

In other news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 211,937 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,880,160.30. This trade represents a 22.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SLB has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $53.00 to $49.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $68.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 target price (down from $62.00) on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $63.00 to $57.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.97.

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.