Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) Insider Sells $1,897,357.56 in Stock

Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) insider Dianne B. Ralston sold 43,161 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.96, for a total value of $1,897,357.56. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 235,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,331,655.04. This trade represents a 15.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Schlumberger Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:SLB opened at $41.99 on Friday. Schlumberger Limited has a 52-week low of $36.52 and a 52-week high of $55.69. The company has a market capitalization of $59.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.45.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last issued 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 business had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9,241,140 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.86 EPS. Schlumberger’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be given a dividend of $0.285 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 5th. This is an increase from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.72%. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on SLB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Schlumberger from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Griffin Securities cut Schlumberger from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Schlumberger from $49.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on Schlumberger from $60.00 to $56.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Schlumberger from $61.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Schlumberger presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.81.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Schlumberger

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp lifted its position in Schlumberger by 0.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 90,209,014 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,808,476,000 after acquiring an additional 528,279 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Schlumberger by 0.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 28,608,226 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,195,290,000 after acquiring an additional 239,966 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Schlumberger by 12,289.6% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 13,043,359 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $500,082,000 after acquiring an additional 12,938,082 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in Schlumberger by 14.0% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 12,686,384 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $598,544,000 after acquiring an additional 1,560,684 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in Schlumberger by 20.6% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 11,213,944 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $470,425,000 after acquiring an additional 1,916,851 shares during the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.