Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) Stock Price Down 0.2% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) dropped 0.2% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $42.00 and last traded at $42.15. Approximately 3,416,803 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 15,073,184 shares. The stock had previously closed at $42.25.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on SLB. Griffin Securities lowered Schlumberger from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note 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. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Schlumberger from $53.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Schlumberger from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Six research 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. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.81.

Schlumberger Trading Up 1.0 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $40.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.72. The stock has a market cap of $60.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.98 and a beta of 1.52.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9,241,140 billion. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.86 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.285 per share. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 5th. This is a boost from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Schlumberger’s payout ratio is 35.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Mogharbel Khaled Al sold 123,097 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.09, for a total transaction of $5,427,346.73. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 184,626 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,140,160.34. This trade represents a 40.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Vijay Kasibhatla sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.94, for a total value of $1,098,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 49,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,179,204.30. The trade was a 33.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 198,258 shares of company stock valued at $8,732,604 in the last three months. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Schlumberger

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Grove Bank & Trust raised its stake in Schlumberger by 17.4% during the 3rd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,514 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 224 shares during the period. M&R Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. M&R Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,817 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $622,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional grew its position in shares of Schlumberger by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. CX Institutional now owns 10,370 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $398,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the period. GM Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in Schlumberger by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC now owns 6,701 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $281,000 after buying an additional 247 shares during the period. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Schlumberger by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 56,714 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,174,000 after buying an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Schlumberger

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.