Schlumberger Limited $SLB Position Reduced by Ashton Thomas Securities LLC

Key Points

• Ashton Thomas Securities LLC has reduced its stake in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 53.4%, now holding 18,195 shares worth $615,000 after selling 20,851 shares in the second quarter.
• Insider Dianne B. Ralston sold 39,727 shares of Schlumberger stock, reducing her ownership by 16.42%, with the shares sold valued at approximately $1.43 million.
• Schlumberger has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.285 per share, with a yield of 3.3%, set to be paid on October 9th to stockholders of record on September 3rd.

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) by 53.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 18,195 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 20,851 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC's holdings in Schlumberger were worth $615,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Command Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 300.0% in the 1st quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 636 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 477 shares during the period. Atticus Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Schlumberger in the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Schlumberger in the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 55.3% in the 2nd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 983 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares during the period. Finally, Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Schlumberger in the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Schlumberger

In related news, insider Dianne B. Ralston sold 39,727 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.08, for a total value of $1,433,350.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 202,201 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,295,412.08. This trade represents a 16.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on SLB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 30th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Schlumberger from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Melius Research initiated coverage on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $82.00 target price for the company. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Melius initiated coverage on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a "buy" rating and a $82.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $52.18.

Schlumberger Stock Down 2.8%

SLB opened at $34.13 on Friday. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $34.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $35.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.31. Schlumberger Limited has a twelve month low of $31.11 and a twelve month high of $46.15. The firm has a market cap of $50.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.69, a PEG ratio of 9.74 and a beta of 0.97.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The oil and gas company reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.01. Schlumberger had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 20.99%. The business had revenue of $8.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.85 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.285 per share. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 3rd. Schlumberger's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.04%.

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.

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