Eastern Bank Trims Stock Position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Eastern Bank trimmed its stake in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 68.6% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,364 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 5,165 shares during the period. Eastern Bank’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $99,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vident Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 27,838 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,067,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares during the period. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC now owns 7,843 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $301,000 after acquiring an additional 282 shares during the period. Heritage Wealth Management Inc. Texas raised its position in Schlumberger by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Heritage Wealth Management Inc. Texas now owns 14,736 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $616,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. Wahed Invest LLC boosted its stake in Schlumberger by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 35,022 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,343,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Management Professionals Inc. grew its position in Schlumberger by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 16,851 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $704,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares during the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Schlumberger news, Director La Chevardiere Patrick De sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.58, for a total value of $167,900.00. Following the sale, the director owned 23,525 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $789,969.50. This represents a 17.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

NYSE:SLB opened at $33.04 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $34.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock has a market cap of $44.65 billion, a PE ratio of 11.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.38 and a beta of 1.03. Schlumberger Limited has a fifty-two week low of $31.11 and a fifty-two week high of $46.16.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The oil and gas company reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.01. Schlumberger had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 20.99%. The firm had revenue of $8.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.85 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.285 per share. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 3rd. Schlumberger’s payout ratio is presently 39.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on SLB. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Schlumberger from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Schlumberger from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Atb Cap Markets upgraded Schlumberger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Schlumberger from $54.00 to $52.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.28.

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.