Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Schlumberger Call Options (NYSE:SLB)

Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Traders purchased 52,483 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 80% compared to the typical daily volume of 29,194 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Schlumberger in a report on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $47.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Schlumberger from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Atb Cap Markets cut Schlumberger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Citigroup raised their price target on Schlumberger from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.81.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SLB traded down $0.43 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $39.39. 12,606,588 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,240,104. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.47. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $40.56 and a 200 day moving average of $41.76. Schlumberger has a 1 year low of $36.52 and a 1 year high of $55.69.

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

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.285 per share. This is a positive change from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 5th. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.66%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Vijay Kasibhatla sold 25,000 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.94, for a total transaction of $1,098,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 49,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,179,204.30. The trade was a 33.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Mogharbel Khaled Al sold 123,097 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.09, for a total transaction of $5,427,346.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 184,626 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,140,160.34. This represents a 40.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 290,772 shares of company stock valued at $12,546,660. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Schlumberger

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Schlumberger during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Schlumberger during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Schlumberger during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Schlumberger during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Schlumberger in the third quarter valued at $37,000. 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.