Dianne B. Ralston Sells 43,161 Shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) Stock

Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) insider Dianne B. Ralston sold 43,161 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 235,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,331,655.04. The trade was a 15.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

SLB opened at $41.62 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $40.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.80. Schlumberger Limited has a 1 year low of $36.52 and a 1 year high of $55.69. The stock has a market cap of $58.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.86 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be issued a $0.285 dividend. This is a positive change from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 5th. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.37%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. ORG Partners LLC increased its holdings in Schlumberger by 393.5% in the 3rd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 607 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 484 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Schlumberger in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Schlumberger during the third quarter worth about $37,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. lifted its stake in Schlumberger by 1,068.3% in the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 958 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 876 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J. Stern & Co. LLP acquired a new stake in Schlumberger in the 3rd quarter worth about $47,000. 81.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Schlumberger from $49.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Griffin Securities downgraded shares of Schlumberger from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and issued a $44.00 price target (down previously from $62.00) on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $60.00 to $56.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.81.

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.