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

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. cut its stake in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 84.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund 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 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in Schlumberger by 79.7% during the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 4,919,990 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $286,835,000 after acquiring an additional 2,182,706 shares during the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 34.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 8,056,492 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $469,693,000 after purchasing an additional 2,085,506 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 30.5% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,370,835 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $488,020,000 after purchasing an additional 1,954,620 shares during the last quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC boosted its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 48.2% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 5,555,662 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $323,895,000 after purchasing an additional 1,807,061 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 130,528,372 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $7,609,804,000 after purchasing an additional 1,412,821 shares during the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on SLB. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Schlumberger from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $68.00 to $53.00 in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating and set a $77.00 target price on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. HSBC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $71.00 target price on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $65.00 target price on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Schlumberger currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.72.

Insider Transactions at Schlumberger

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

Schlumberger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SLB opened at $47.96 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.55 billion, a PE ratio of 15.90, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.64. Schlumberger Limited has a twelve month low of $42.73 and a twelve month high of $62.12. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $51.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $51.51.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The oil and gas company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.72% and a return on equity of 21.88%. The firm had revenue of $8.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.63 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast 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 issued a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.29%. This is an increase from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 5th. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.