Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Sells 9,540 Shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. cut its position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 21.7% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 34,495 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 9,540 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $1,627,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 72.3% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 88,950,956 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,875,402,000 after buying an additional 37,333,485 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Schlumberger by 14.1% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 85,986,039 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,712,897,000 after acquiring an additional 10,606,191 shares during the period. Winslow Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 123,063.5% during the fourth quarter. Winslow Capital Management LLC now owns 4,347,671 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $226,253,000 after acquiring an additional 4,344,141 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 35.8% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 11,640,827 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $635,883,000 after purchasing an additional 3,069,395 shares during the period. Finally, Ceredex Value Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Schlumberger in the second quarter worth $92,944,000. 81.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Vijay Kasibhatla sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.29, for a total value of $492,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 62,354 shares in the company, valued at $3,073,428.66. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 value of $492,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 62,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,073,428.66. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, 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 transaction of $6,056,326.92. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 247,699 shares in the company, valued at $12,432,012.81. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 180,716 shares of company stock valued at $9,048,624. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SLB has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup lowered their target price on Schlumberger from $65.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $68.00 price objective on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Dbs Bank initiated coverage on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $64.50 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $70.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.29.

Schlumberger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SLB opened at $42.41 on Monday. Schlumberger Limited has a twelve month low of $38.66 and a twelve month high of $61.41. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $44.48 and its 200-day moving average is $47.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.09, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.51.

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

Schlumberger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 4th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.59%. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.54%.

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.