Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) Price Target Lowered to $62.00 at Bank of America

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) had its price target trimmed by Bank of America from $63.00 to $62.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the oil and gas company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Barclays dropped their target price on Schlumberger from $74.00 to $70.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Susquehanna reiterated a positive rating and issued a $77.00 price objective on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Schlumberger from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Schlumberger from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a buy rating and issued a $68.00 price objective on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $69.67.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

SLB stock opened at $49.45 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $70.58 billion, a PE ratio of 16.43, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The business has a 50 day moving average of $51.73 and a 200-day moving average of $52.23. Schlumberger has a 12-month low of $42.73 and a 12-month high of $62.12.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The oil and gas company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.75. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.88% and a net margin of 12.72%. The business had revenue of $8.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.63 earnings per share. Schlumberger’s revenue was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Schlumberger will post 3.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.275 per share. This is a boost from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 5th. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.54%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Stephane Biguet sold 6,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.78, for a total value of $329,875.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 249,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,151,825.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Schlumberger news, insider Katharina Beumelburg sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.62, for a total value of $420,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,581 shares in the company, valued at $819,872.22. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Stephane Biguet sold 6,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.78, for a total transaction of $329,875.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 249,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,151,825.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 90,545 shares of company stock valued at $4,458,430. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Schlumberger

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SLB. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Schlumberger in the fourth quarter worth about $1,000,292,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 12.9% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 75,379,848 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,922,768,000 after purchasing an additional 8,617,971 shares during the last quarter. Winslow Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 123,063.5% during the fourth quarter. Winslow Capital Management LLC now owns 4,347,671 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $226,253,000 after purchasing an additional 4,344,141 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 79.7% during the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 4,919,990 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $286,835,000 after purchasing an additional 2,182,706 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 34.9% during the third quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 8,056,492 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $469,693,000 after purchasing an additional 2,085,506 shares during the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.