Franklin Resources Inc. Has $612.25 Million Stock Holdings in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Franklin Resources Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,696,764 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 1,060,867 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $612,245,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Schlumberger during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $92,944,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Schlumberger during the second quarter valued at approximately $91,364,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Schlumberger by 20.6% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 11,213,944 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $470,425,000 after purchasing an additional 1,916,851 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 14.0% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 12,686,384 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $598,544,000 after purchasing an additional 1,560,684 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Schlumberger by 14.9% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,067,465 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $333,445,000 after purchasing an additional 915,705 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.90, for a total transaction of $2,514,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 211,937 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,880,160.30. This represents a 22.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

NYSE SLB opened at $40.22 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $56.80 billion, a PE ratio of 12.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.48. Schlumberger Limited has a 52-week low of $38.66 and a 52-week high of $55.69. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $44.01.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The oil and gas company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.01. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.44% and a return on equity of 21.84%. The company had revenue of $9.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.78 EPS. Schlumberger’s quarterly revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.39 EPS for the current year.

Schlumberger Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 4th will be paid a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 4th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.73%. Schlumberger’s payout ratio is presently 35.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Schlumberger to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $74.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Schlumberger from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Schlumberger from $68.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Schlumberger from $64.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.91.

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.