First Business Financial Services Inc. Increases Stock Position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

First Business Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 33,970 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 990 shares during the period. First Business Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $1,425,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Schlumberger by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 134,150,168 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $7,352,771,000 after acquiring an additional 1,868,688 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its position in Schlumberger by 72.3% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 88,950,956 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,875,402,000 after buying an additional 37,333,485 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Schlumberger by 14.1% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 85,986,039 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,712,897,000 after buying an additional 10,606,191 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in Schlumberger by 14.0% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 12,686,384 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $598,544,000 after buying an additional 1,560,684 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners lifted its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 35.8% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 11,640,827 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $635,883,000 after acquiring an additional 3,069,395 shares during the period. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SLB has been the subject of several analyst reports. Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $60.00 to $56.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 21st. Dbs Bank began coverage on Schlumberger in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $64.50 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Schlumberger from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Schlumberger from $68.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $63.00 to $57.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.97.

Schlumberger Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:SLB opened at $43.45 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The company has a market capitalization of $61.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.52. Schlumberger Limited has a 52-week low of $38.66 and a 52-week high of $55.69. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $42.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $44.76.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The oil and gas company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.01. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.84% and a net margin of 12.44%. The firm had revenue of $9.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.27 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.78 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 4th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.53%. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.37%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 211,937 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,880,160.30. This represents a 22.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

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.