Jennison Associates LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Jennison Associates LLC decreased its position in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 59.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,517,243 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 2,185,065 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $78,957,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Schlumberger during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. MCF Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 1,355.9% in the third quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 495 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 461 shares during the period. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Schlumberger in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 1,180.4% in the fourth quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 653 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 602 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 64.3% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 746 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 292 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

Schlumberger stock opened at $49.52 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $51.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $52.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.37. The stock has a market cap of $70.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.45, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.60. Schlumberger Limited has a fifty-two week low of $42.73 and a fifty-two week high of $62.12.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The oil and gas company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.75. The business had revenue of $8.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.70 billion. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.88% and a net margin of 12.72%. The business’s revenue was up 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.63 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. This is a boost from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 5th. Schlumberger’s payout ratio is presently 36.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Schlumberger

In other Schlumberger news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 50,000 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.52, for a total transaction of $2,426,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 261,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,688,319.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.52, for a total value of $2,426,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 261,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,688,319.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Howard Guild sold 22,853 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.66, for a total value of $1,180,585.98. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 22,181 shares in the company, valued at $1,145,870.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 133,621 shares of company stock valued at $6,691,623. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Schlumberger from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Schlumberger from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Schlumberger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $68.00 price objective on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Schlumberger has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.67.

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.