Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) Shares Down 1%

Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)’s stock price dropped 1% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $42.01 and last traded at $42.31. Approximately 3,062,948 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 72% from the average daily volume of 10,812,862 shares. The stock had previously closed at $42.75.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Schlumberger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $69.00 target price on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $68.00 target price on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Susquehanna decreased their price target on Schlumberger from $77.00 to $70.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on Schlumberger from $65.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.29.

Schlumberger Price Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $44.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.56 billion, a PE ratio of 14.02, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.51.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 19th. The oil and gas company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $9.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.08 billion. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.56% and a return on equity of 21.92%. Schlumberger’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.72 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 4th will be paid a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.58%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 4th. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Schlumberger

In other news, EVP Mogharbel Khaled Al sold 120,668 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.19, for a total transaction of $6,056,326.92. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 247,699 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,432,012.81. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Mogharbel Khaled Al sold 120,668 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.19, for a total value of $6,056,326.92. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 247,699 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,432,012.81. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Vijay Kasibhatla sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.29, for a total transaction of $492,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 62,354 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,073,428.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 180,716 shares of company stock valued at $9,048,624 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Schlumberger

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SLB. Capital World Investors boosted its position in Schlumberger by 72.3% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 88,950,956 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,875,402,000 after purchasing an additional 37,333,485 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 14.1% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 85,986,039 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,712,897,000 after buying an additional 10,606,191 shares in the last quarter. Winslow Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Schlumberger by 123,063.5% in the 4th quarter. Winslow Capital Management LLC now owns 4,347,671 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $226,253,000 after buying an additional 4,344,141 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 35.8% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 11,640,827 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $635,883,000 after acquiring an additional 3,069,395 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ceredex Value Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Schlumberger during the second quarter valued at approximately $92,944,000. 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.