Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Raises Holdings in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 1.9% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 623,004 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 11,611 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $26,135,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC bought a new position in Schlumberger in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $257,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Schlumberger by 8.7% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake 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 valued at $827,000 after buying an additional 14,376 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in 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 worth $89,723,000 after purchasing an additional 11,813 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Schlumberger by 26.0% in the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 307,040 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $12,880,000 after buying an additional 63,413 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SLB has been the subject of several research reports. Dbs Bank assumed coverage on Schlumberger in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $64.50 target price for the company. Barclays dropped their price target on Schlumberger from $67.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. UBS Group cut their target price on Schlumberger from $63.00 to $57.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Schlumberger to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.97.

Schlumberger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SLB opened at $43.94 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $42.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $44.41. 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 stock has a market cap of $62.05 billion, a PE ratio of 14.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.52. Schlumberger Limited has a one year low of $38.66 and a one year high of $55.69.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The oil and gas company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.01. The business 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.78 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 4th will be issued a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 4th. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.37%.

Insider Activity at Schlumberger

In other Schlumberger news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 211,937 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,880,160.30. This trade represents a 22.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.