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 dated Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.44, for a total transaction of $2,486,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 210,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,723,202.88. This represents a 22.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Schlumberger Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE SLB opened at $41.03 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The firm has a market capitalization 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 firm’s 50-day moving average is $40.64 and its 200-day moving average is $42.65. Schlumberger Limited has a 1 year low of $36.52 and a 1 year high of $55.69.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last released its 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. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 21.90%. The firm had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.24 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.86 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.34 EPS for the current year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be given a dividend of $0.285 per share. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.78%. This is a boost from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 5th. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Schlumberger from $49.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Evercore ISI reissued an “in-line” rating and issued a $44.00 price target (down previously from $62.00) on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $60.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Susquehanna dropped their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $60.00 to $56.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.81.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Schlumberger

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Schlumberger by 12,289.6% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 13,043,359 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $500,082,000 after purchasing an additional 12,938,082 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in Schlumberger by 20.6% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 11,213,944 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $470,425,000 after buying an additional 1,916,851 shares during the period. Scharf Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Schlumberger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $52,607,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of Schlumberger by 12.7% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 8,103,715 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $310,696,000 after acquiring an additional 915,925 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Schlumberger during the third quarter worth $37,322,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

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.