BMO Capital Markets Lowers Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) Price Target to $64.00

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) had its price objective cut by BMO Capital Markets from $66.00 to $64.00 in a research report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the oil and gas company's stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Schlumberger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Monday. Susquehanna reaffirmed a positive rating and set a $77.00 target price on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Schlumberger from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. HSBC restated a buy rating and set a $71.00 price target on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a buy rating and set 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 issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $69.67.

Schlumberger Price Performance

NYSE:SLB traded down $0.33 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $49.52. 10,878,790 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,278,627. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $51.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $52.32. Schlumberger has a 52 week low of $42.73 and a 52 week high of $62.12. The firm has a market cap of $70.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.45, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 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.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The oil and gas company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.63 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Schlumberger will post 3.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 5th will be issued a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. This is a positive change from Schlumberger's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 5th. Schlumberger's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.54%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Schlumberger

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SLB. Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV grew its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 1.4% in the third quarter. Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV now owns 11,968 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $698,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY raised its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 0.5% during the third quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 32,845 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,915,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 1.7% in the third quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 10,864 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $633,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the period. CI Investments Inc. grew its stake in Schlumberger by 4.9% in the third quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 4,142 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $241,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Montgomery Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Schlumberger by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Montgomery Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,920 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $637,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.99% of the company's stock.

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.