Abdellah Merad Sells 60,000 Shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) Stock

Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 210,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,723,202.88. This represents a 22.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Schlumberger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SLB opened at $40.21 on Friday. Schlumberger Limited has a 1-year low of $36.52 and a 1-year high of $55.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $40.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.32 billion, a PE ratio of 12.93, a P/E/G ratio of 9.70 and a beta of 1.52.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.24 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.86 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be given a $0.285 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 yield of 2.84%. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SLB has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Schlumberger from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Griffin Securities cut Schlumberger from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Schlumberger to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Schlumberger from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Atb Cap Markets cut Schlumberger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.81.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. ORG Partners LLC increased its holdings 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 valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 484 shares during the period. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Schlumberger during the third quarter valued at $29,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Schlumberger during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Schlumberger during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Schlumberger during the third quarter valued at $37,000. 81.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.