Insider Selling: Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) EVP Sells 60,000 Shares of Stock

Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.44, for a total value of $2,486,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 210,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,723,202.88. The trade was a 22.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

Shares of Schlumberger stock opened at $41.03 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $40.64 and a 200-day moving average of $42.65. The company has a market cap of $57.93 billion, a PE ratio of 13.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.98 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Schlumberger Limited has a 1-year low of $36.52 and a 1-year high of $55.69.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 21.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. The company had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.86 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.285 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 5th. This is a positive change from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.78%. Schlumberger’s payout ratio is 35.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Schlumberger from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Griffin Securities downgraded shares of Schlumberger from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Atb Cap Markets cut shares of Schlumberger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $49.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $53.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.81.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Schlumberger

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SLB. ORG Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 393.5% during the third quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 607 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 484 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Schlumberger in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Schlumberger during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Schlumberger during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Schlumberger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 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.