Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) Trading Down 1.5% – Time to Sell?

Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)’s stock price dropped 1.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $40.20 and last traded at $40.33. Approximately 6,130,630 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 58% from the average daily volume of 14,516,955 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.94.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SLB has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays decreased their price target on Schlumberger from $61.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Evercore ISI reissued an “in-line” rating and issued a $44.00 price objective (down from $62.00) on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Bank of America dropped their target price on Schlumberger from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 14th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Schlumberger from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Atb Cap Markets cut Schlumberger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.81.

Schlumberger Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $56.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.55 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a 50 day moving average of $40.25 and a 200 day moving average of $42.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.24 billion. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.86 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be given a dividend of $0.285 per share. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 5th. This is an increase from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Schlumberger’s payout ratio is 35.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Schlumberger

In other news, insider Bejar Carmen Rando sold 5,524 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.41, for a total value of $223,224.84. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 30,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,245,799.89. This represents a 15.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Vijay Kasibhatla sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.94, for a total value of $1,098,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 49,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,179,204.30. The trade was a 33.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 263,782 shares of company stock valued at $11,442,229. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Schlumberger by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 496,984 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $19,054,000 after buying an additional 22,147 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC raised its stake in Schlumberger by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 13,711 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $526,000 after buying an additional 1,036 shares in the last quarter. Miller Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Schlumberger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $375,000. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Schlumberger by 18.6% during the 4th quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 8,600 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $330,000 after purchasing an additional 1,347 shares during the period. Finally, Morton Community Bank raised its position in shares of Schlumberger by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Morton Community Bank now owns 58,690 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,250,000 after purchasing an additional 660 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.