Schlumberger Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:SLB)

Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Investors purchased 38,335 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 57% compared to the typical volume of 24,393 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on SLB. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Schlumberger from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. Barclays dropped their target price on Schlumberger from $53.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $60.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $46.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Schlumberger presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $52.38.

Insider Transactions at Schlumberger

In other news, Director La Chevardiere Patrick De sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.58, for a total value of $167,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 23,525 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $789,969.50. This trade represents a 17.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Aparna Raman sold 25,133 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.28, for a total value of $1,062,623.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 31,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,311,990.68. The trade was a 44.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Schlumberger

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Schlumberger by 478.8% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 47,719,476 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,994,674,000 after acquiring an additional 39,474,501 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Schlumberger in the fourth quarter valued at about $735,398,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Schlumberger by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 75,986,195 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,913,312,000 after buying an additional 5,225,828 shares during the period. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 27.7% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 19,829,381 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $824,160,000 after acquiring an additional 4,300,222 shares during the period. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Schlumberger by 211.1% in the first quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 5,992,997 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $250,507,000 after buying an additional 4,066,500 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Schlumberger Trading Up 4.3%

NYSE SLB traded up $1.47 on Tuesday, hitting $35.59. 6,544,228 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,459,311. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $34.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.11. Schlumberger has a twelve month low of $31.11 and a twelve month high of $50.94.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.73 by ($0.01). Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. The business had revenue of $8.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.75 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Schlumberger will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be issued a $0.285 dividend. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.64%.

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.