Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 7.4% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 103,434 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 7,110 shares during the period. Schlumberger accounts for about 1.8% of Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $4,324,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SLB. True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in Schlumberger by 584.7% during the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 986 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 842 shares in the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 468.9% in the fourth quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 1,024 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 844 shares during the last quarter. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Schlumberger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its stake in Schlumberger by 265.4% in the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 961 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 698 shares during the last quarter. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new position in Schlumberger in the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on SLB shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $46.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $60.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $53.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their target price on Schlumberger from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.38.

Schlumberger Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of Schlumberger stock opened at $36.31 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $34.36 and a 200 day moving average of $38.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.67, a PEG ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.01. Schlumberger Limited has a fifty-two week low of $31.11 and a fifty-two week high of $50.94.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.73 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $8.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.64 billion. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 21.90%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.75 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Schlumberger Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be given a $0.285 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.14%. Schlumberger’s payout ratio is currently 38.64%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Aparna Raman sold 25,133 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction on Friday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.28, for a total value of $1,062,623.24. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 31,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,311,990.68. The trade was a 44.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director La Chevardiere Patrick De sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.58, for a total value of $167,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 23,525 shares in the company, valued at $789,969.50. This represents a 17.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.