Bridgewater Associates LP Purchases 407,323 Shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Bridgewater Associates LP grew its position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 54.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,155,760 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 407,323 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP owned 0.08% of Schlumberger worth $48,484,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. ORG Partners LLC boosted its stake in Schlumberger by 393.5% in the third quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 607 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 484 shares in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Schlumberger by 204.2% in the second quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 584 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 392 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Schlumberger in the third quarter worth about $29,000. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Schlumberger during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 90.6% in the 2nd quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 648 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Schlumberger Price Performance

Shares of SLB opened at $43.47 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $42.89 and a 200-day moving average of $44.46. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $61.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.52. Schlumberger Limited has a twelve month low of $38.66 and a twelve month high of $55.69.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The oil and gas company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $9.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.27 billion. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.84% and a net margin of 12.44%. Schlumberger’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.78 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Announces Dividend

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 paid a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 4th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.53%. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $69.00 price objective on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Citigroup cut their price target on Schlumberger from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Schlumberger from $74.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 21st. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Schlumberger from $68.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $64.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.97.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.90, for a total transaction of $2,514,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 211,937 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,880,160.30. This represents a 22.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

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.