Principal Financial Group Inc. Increases Holdings in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,487,067 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 332,500 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $188,232,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky raised its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 25.9% during the 3rd quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 761,875 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $31,961,000 after buying an additional 156,698 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its position in Schlumberger by 27.0% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 76,838 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,223,000 after acquiring an additional 16,350 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 8.7% during the third 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 lifted its position in shares of Schlumberger by 269.1% during the third quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 19,718 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $827,000 after purchasing an additional 14,376 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 0.6% in the second 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Schlumberger Trading Down 1.1 %

Schlumberger stock opened at $36.91 on Friday. Schlumberger Limited has a 1 year low of $36.52 and a 1 year high of $55.69. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $42.22 and its 200-day moving average is $43.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.48. The company has a market cap of $52.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.87, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.51.

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

Schlumberger Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.98%. Schlumberger’s payout ratio is currently 35.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on SLB. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $74.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 21st. Dbs Bank began coverage on Schlumberger in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $64.50 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price objective (down previously from $62.00) on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Bank of America cut their target price on Schlumberger from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Atb Cap Markets downgraded shares of Schlumberger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $58.85.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Schlumberger news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.90, for a total transaction of $2,514,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 211,937 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,880,160.30. The trade was a 22.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.