Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) Shares Up 0.3% – Here’s What Happened

Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)’s share price rose 0.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $41.38 and last traded at $41.07. Approximately 2,772,774 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 14,969,898 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.94.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Evercore ISI restated an “in-line” rating and issued a $44.00 target price (down from $62.00) on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Griffin Securities lowered Schlumberger from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $60.00 to $56.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Schlumberger presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.81.

Schlumberger Trading Up 0.2 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company has a market cap of $57.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.19, a PEG ratio of 9.98 and a beta of 1.52. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $40.64 and its 200-day moving average is $42.65.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.24 billion. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 21.90%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.86 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.285 per share. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.78%. This is a boost from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 5th. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Schlumberger news, VP Ugo Prechner sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.20, for a total value of $309,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 11,240 shares in the company, valued at $496,808. This represents a 38.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Dianne B. Ralston sold 43,161 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.96, for a total transaction of $1,897,357.56. Following the sale, the insider now owns 235,024 shares in the company, valued at $10,331,655.04. The trade was a 15.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 258,258 shares of company stock valued at $11,219,004 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Schlumberger

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SLB. Creative Planning boosted its stake in Schlumberger by 51.2% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 263,407 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $12,428,000 after buying an additional 89,226 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in Schlumberger by 89.8% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 132,062 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $6,231,000 after purchasing an additional 62,466 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its stake in Schlumberger by 22.5% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,296 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $108,000 after purchasing an additional 421 shares in the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 84.6% in the 2nd quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 45,774 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,170,000 after buying an additional 20,974 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 30.3% in the 2nd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,908 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $326,000 after buying an additional 1,606 shares during 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.