Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Lowers Stock Holdings in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lowered its position in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 11.0% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 605,177 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 74,468 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $28,552,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of SLB. Focus Financial Network Inc. ADV purchased a new position in shares of Schlumberger during the fourth quarter worth about $254,000. Evoke Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Schlumberger in the 4th quarter worth $231,000. KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Schlumberger by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 110,553 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $5,753,000 after buying an additional 5,701 shares in the last quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 42.4% during the 4th quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 20,271 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,055,000 after acquiring an additional 6,035 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rafferty Asset Management LLC grew its position in Schlumberger by 15.3% in the fourth quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 354,147 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $18,430,000 after acquiring an additional 47,026 shares in the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Vijay Kasibhatla sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.29, for a total transaction of $492,900.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 62,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,073,428.66. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Mogharbel Khaled Al sold 120,668 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.19, for a total value of $6,056,326.92. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 247,699 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,432,012.81. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Vijay Kasibhatla sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.29, for a total value of $492,900.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 62,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,073,428.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 180,716 shares of company stock valued at $9,048,624. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Schlumberger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SLB opened at $41.95 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.49. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.96. Schlumberger Limited has a fifty-two week low of $38.66 and a fifty-two week high of $61.20. The company has a market capitalization of $59.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.94, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.51.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 19th. The oil and gas company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.02. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.56% and a return on equity of 21.92%. The company had revenue of $9.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.72 EPS. Schlumberger’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 4th will be issued a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 4th. Schlumberger’s payout ratio is 36.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group lowered their price target on Schlumberger from $63.00 to $57.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $69.00 target price on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $70.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $68.00 target price on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Schlumberger has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.08.

Schlumberger 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.