Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) dropped 1.8% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $49.02 and last traded at $50.00. Approximately 5,416,312 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 51% from the average daily volume of 11,118,729 shares. The stock had previously closed at $50.94.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on SLB. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Schlumberger from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. HSBC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $71.00 target price on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Barclays cut their price objective on Schlumberger from $74.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Monday, April 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.31.

Schlumberger Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $71.81 billion, a PE ratio of 17.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.60. The business’s 50 day moving average is $51.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $52.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.32.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The oil and gas company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.75. The company had revenue of $8.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.70 billion. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.97% and a net margin of 12.68%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.63 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 5th will be given a $0.275 dividend. This is a positive change from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.19%. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.67%.

Insider Activity at Schlumberger

In other Schlumberger news, CAO Howard Guild sold 22,853 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.66, for a total value of $1,180,585.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 22,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,145,870.46. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 50,000 shares of the company’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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 261,507 shares in the company, valued at $12,688,319.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Howard Guild sold 22,853 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.66, for a total transaction of $1,180,585.98. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 22,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,145,870.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 172,191 shares of company stock valued at $8,636,322. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Schlumberger

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Schlumberger by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 132,281,480 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $6,883,928,000 after acquiring an additional 1,753,108 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 12.9% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 75,379,848 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,922,768,000 after buying an additional 8,617,971 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its position in Schlumberger by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 51,617,471 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,686,173,000 after buying an additional 1,133,686 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in Schlumberger by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 27,171,516 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,584,099,000 after buying an additional 282,709 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Schlumberger by 1.6% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 25,347,967 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,241,319,000 after buying an additional 401,606 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

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.