Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) Shares Up 0.8% Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) rose 0.8% on Monday after Bank of America raised their price target on the stock from $62.00 to $63.00. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the stock. Schlumberger traded as high as $52.91 and last traded at $52.42. Approximately 2,466,570 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 11,204,281 shares. The stock had previously closed at $52.00.

SLB has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Barclays decreased their price objective on Schlumberger from $74.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 price target on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. HSBC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $71.00 price target on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $70.31.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Schlumberger news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.52, for a total transaction of $2,426,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 261,507 shares in the company, valued at $12,688,319.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Schlumberger news, CFO Stephane Biguet sold 6,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.64, for a total transaction of $304,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 242,932 shares in the company, valued at $11,816,212.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.52, for a total transaction of $2,426,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 261,507 shares in the company, valued at $12,688,319.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 172,191 shares of company stock worth $8,636,322 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Schlumberger

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Viking Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Schlumberger during the first quarter worth approximately $1,644,000. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 15.4% during the first quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 7,242 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $397,000 after buying an additional 965 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Schlumberger during the first quarter worth approximately $1,758,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 2.2% during the first quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 10,551 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $578,000 after buying an additional 230 shares during the period. Finally, Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 5.6% during the first quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,944 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $764,000 after buying an additional 745 shares during the period. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Schlumberger Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $51.36 and a 200-day moving average of $52.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.60.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 19th. The oil and gas company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $8.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.96 billion. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.97% and a net margin of 12.68%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.71 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 4th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 7th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 6th. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.25%.

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.