Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) Stock Price Down 1.8% After Insider Selling

Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) traded down 1.8% on Thursday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $41.35 and last traded at $41.38. 2,712,819 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 11,065,418 shares. The stock had previously closed at $42.13.

Specifically, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.90, for a total value of $2,514,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 211,937 shares in the company, valued at $8,880,160.30. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Schlumberger from $53.00 to $49.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price target (down previously from $62.00) on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Monday, October 21st. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Schlumberger from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Schlumberger from $74.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $69.00 price target on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.97.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The firm has a market cap of $59.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.51. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $45.72.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The oil and gas company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $9.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.27 billion. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.84% and a net margin of 12.44%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.78 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.41 EPS for the current year.

Schlumberger Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 4th. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.54%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Schlumberger

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Financial Advocates Investment Management lifted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 11.5% during the third quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 7,311 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $307,000 after purchasing an additional 753 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 7.0% during the third quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 62,549 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,624,000 after purchasing an additional 4,070 shares during the period. Tandem Capital Management Corp ADV purchased a new position in Schlumberger during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,487,000. Avitas Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Schlumberger by 1.0% during the third quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC now owns 85,875 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,602,000 after acquiring an additional 810 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Childress Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Schlumberger by 146.5% during the third quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 10,948 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $459,000 after acquiring an additional 6,506 shares in the last quarter. 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.