QRG Capital Management Inc. Purchases 2,713 Shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 6.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 44,582 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 2,713 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $1,870,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Schlumberger by 297.9% in the 1st quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 569 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 426 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC lifted its position in shares of Schlumberger by 55.3% in the 1st quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 79,022 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,331,000 after purchasing an additional 28,152 shares during the period. Duality Advisers LP purchased a new stake in Schlumberger during the first quarter valued at approximately $861,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 93.1% in the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 163,445 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $8,958,000 after buying an additional 78,816 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hilltop National Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Schlumberger in the first quarter worth $377,000. Institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Schlumberger Stock Down 1.2 %

NYSE:SLB opened at $43.24 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $61.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.52. Schlumberger Limited has a twelve month low of $38.66 and a twelve month high of $55.69. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $42.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $44.96.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The oil and gas company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.01. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.84% and a net margin of 12.44%. The firm had revenue of $9.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.27 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.78 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 4th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.54%. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.37%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 211,937 shares in the company, valued at $8,880,160.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on SLB. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price target (down previously from $62.00) on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $68.00 price objective on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $53.00 to $49.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $67.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Schlumberger presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.97.

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.