Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) Stock Price Up 1.6%

Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)’s share price was up 1.6% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $51.72 and last traded at $51.64. Approximately 2,083,128 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 11,121,109 shares. The stock had previously closed at $50.81.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on SLB shares. Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating and issued a $77.00 price objective on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Barclays decreased their price target on Schlumberger from $74.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 price target on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Schlumberger from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $70.31.

Schlumberger Stock Down 2.2 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $51.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $52.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.60.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The oil and gas company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75. The firm had revenue of $8.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.70 billion. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.97% and a net margin of 12.68%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.63 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.275 per share. This is a positive change from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.67%.

Insider Activity at Schlumberger

In related news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 50,000 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.52, for a total transaction of $2,426,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 261,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,688,319.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 50,000 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.52, for a total transaction of $2,426,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 261,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,688,319.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Mogharbel Khaled Al sold 38,570 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.42, for a total value of $1,944,699.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 386,841 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,504,523.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 172,191 shares of company stock valued at $8,636,322. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Highland Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 2,494.0% in the fourth quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 101,426 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $5,278,000 after buying an additional 97,516 shares during the period. Guinness Asset Management LTD increased its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 0.3% in the third quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 331,309 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $19,468,000 after buying an additional 965 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 36.4% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,424,625 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $74,080,000 after buying an additional 380,185 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 3.8% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 5,557 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $324,000 after buying an additional 206 shares during the period. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 607,312 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $31,726,000 after buying an additional 35,763 shares during the period. 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.