Groupama Asset Managment Invests $25.15 Million in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Groupama Asset Managment bought a new stake in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 665,218 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,152,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SLB. Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new stake in shares of Schlumberger during the fourth quarter valued at $42,388,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 29,985,360 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,146,195,000 after buying an additional 1,377,134 shares in the last quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC raised its position in shares of Schlumberger by 22.1% in the fourth quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 18,492 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $746,000 after buying an additional 3,342 shares during the last quarter. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 27.6% during the 4th quarter. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 13,050 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $500,000 after purchasing an additional 2,825 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Schlumberger by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 15,396,967 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $590,320,000 after purchasing an additional 1,700,203 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $57.00 price objective on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Schlumberger from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Schlumberger from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Citigroup raised their price objective on Schlumberger from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Schlumberger from $60.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Six investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.69.

Insider Buying and Selling at Schlumberger

In related news, Director Vijay Kasibhatla sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.94, for a total value of $1,098,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 49,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,179,204.30. This trade represents a 33.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Gavin Rennick sold 26,990 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.92, for a total value of $1,104,430.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 53,584 shares in the company, valued at $2,192,657.28. This represents a 33.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 290,772 shares of company stock worth $12,546,660 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Schlumberger Price Performance

SLB opened at $41.83 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $56.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.45, a PEG ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a 50-day moving average of $41.25 and a 200-day moving average of $41.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.45. Schlumberger Limited has a 1-year low of $36.52 and a 1-year high of $55.65.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.24 billion. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. Schlumberger’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.86 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be issued a $0.285 dividend. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 5th. This is an increase from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Schlumberger’s payout ratio is currently 36.66%.

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.