Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB)

Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Investors acquired 44,442 call options on the company. This is an increase of 55% compared to the typical volume of 28,642 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Schlumberger news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.90, for a total transaction of $2,514,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 211,937 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,880,160.30. This represents a 22.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Schlumberger

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SLB. ORG Partners LLC raised its holdings in Schlumberger by 393.5% during the third quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 607 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 484 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Schlumberger in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Schlumberger during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. raised its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 1,068.3% in the third quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 958 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 876 shares during the last quarter. Finally, J. Stern & Co. LLP bought a new position in shares of Schlumberger in the third quarter valued at approximately $47,000. 81.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Schlumberger Trading Up 6.1 %

SLB opened at $43.58 on Friday. Schlumberger has a twelve month low of $36.52 and a twelve month high of $55.69. The company has a fifty day moving average of $40.86 and a 200-day moving average of $42.90. The stock has a market cap of $61.54 billion, a PE ratio of 14.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.02. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.84% and a net margin of 12.44%. The company had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9,241,140 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.86 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Schlumberger will post 3.39 EPS for the current year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 is an increase from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 5th. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.62%. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on SLB shares. Evercore ISI reissued an “in-line” rating and set a $44.00 price target (down from $62.00) on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Wednesday. Atb Cap Markets downgraded Schlumberger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Griffin Securities downgraded shares of Schlumberger from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $69.00 price target on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $53.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $56.03.

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.