Principal Financial Group Inc. Trims Position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 17.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,702,327 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 784,740 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.26% of Schlumberger worth $141,947,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Schlumberger during the third quarter worth $29,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new position in shares of Schlumberger during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Schlumberger during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Schlumberger during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Schlumberger during the third quarter valued at $37,000. Institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Schlumberger

In other Schlumberger news, VP Ugo Prechner sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.20, for a total transaction of $309,400.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 11,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $496,808. This trade represents a 38.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mogharbel Khaled Al sold 123,097 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.09, for a total transaction of $5,427,346.73. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 184,626 shares in the company, valued at $8,140,160.34. This trade represents a 40.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 263,782 shares of company stock valued at $11,442,229. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Schlumberger Trading Up 2.1 %

SLB stock opened at $42.63 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $59.71 billion, a PE ratio of 13.71, a P/E/G ratio of 9.49 and a beta of 1.51. Schlumberger Limited has a 12 month low of $36.52 and a 12 month high of $55.69. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $40.09 and its 200 day moving average is $41.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last posted its quarterly 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 the consensus estimate of $9.24 billion. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 21.90%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.86 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be given a dividend of $0.285 per share. This is an increase from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 5th. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.67%. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on SLB. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Citigroup increased 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, January 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $57.00 price objective on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $60.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.81.

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.