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

Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) insider Dianne B. Ralston sold 43,161 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.96, for a total transaction of $1,897,357.56. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 235,024 shares in the company, valued at $10,331,655.04. This represents a 15.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Schlumberger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SLB opened at $41.99 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $59.29 billion, a PE ratio of 13.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.52. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $40.79 and its 200-day moving average is $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 Limited has a 52 week low of $36.52 and a 52 week 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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9,241,140 billion. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 21.90%. Schlumberger’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.86 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.33 earnings per share for the current 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 2.72%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 5th. This is a positive change from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Schlumberger’s payout ratio is 35.37%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Schlumberger

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its holdings in Schlumberger by 25.9% in the third quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 761,875 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $31,961,000 after buying an additional 156,698 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its holdings in Schlumberger by 27.0% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 76,838 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,223,000 after buying an additional 16,350 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Schlumberger by 8.7% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 817,771 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $34,305,000 after buying an additional 65,318 shares during the period. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Schlumberger by 269.1% in the third quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 19,718 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $827,000 after buying an additional 14,376 shares during the period. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its holdings in Schlumberger by 0.6% in the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 1,901,713 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $89,723,000 after buying an additional 11,813 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI reissued an “in-line” rating and issued a $44.00 price objective (down from $62.00) on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 14th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $60.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Schlumberger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.