Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. Sells 251,371 Shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. trimmed its holdings in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 84.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 45,284 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 251,371 shares during the quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $2,357,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SLB. Highland Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 2,494.0% during the 4th quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 101,426 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $5,278,000 after acquiring an additional 97,516 shares in the last quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD raised its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 331,309 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $19,468,000 after acquiring an additional 965 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 36.4% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,424,625 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $74,080,000 after acquiring an additional 380,185 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 5,557 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $324,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 607,312 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $31,726,000 after acquiring an additional 35,763 shares in the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 261,507 shares in the company, valued at $12,688,319.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Schlumberger news, CFO Stephane Biguet sold 6,250 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.64, for a total value of $304,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 242,932 shares in the company, valued at $11,816,212.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 50,000 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.52, for a total value of $2,426,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 261,507 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,688,319.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Schlumberger Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE:SLB opened at $47.96 on Thursday. Schlumberger Limited has a twelve month low of $42.73 and a twelve month high of $62.12. The company has a market cap of $68.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.64. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $51.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

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

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 5th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. This is a positive change from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. 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, April 22nd. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $68.00 price target on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Bank of America lowered their price target on Schlumberger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Barclays lowered their price target on Schlumberger from $74.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Schlumberger from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.72.

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.