Core Laboratories Inc. (NYSE:CLB) Position Lessened by Wells Fargo & Company MN

Wells Fargo & Company MN cut its holdings in Core Laboratories Inc. (NYSE:CLB - Free Report) by 22.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 216,075 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 60,949 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN owned about 0.46% of Core Laboratories worth $3,740,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Core Laboratories by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,058,620 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $18,329,000 after purchasing an additional 5,416 shares during the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its position in Core Laboratories by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 617,336 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $10,686,000 after purchasing an additional 16,503 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in Core Laboratories by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 443,621 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $7,679,000 after purchasing an additional 26,237 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Core Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth about $6,760,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Core Laboratories by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 229,096 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $3,966,000 after purchasing an additional 6,827 shares during the last quarter. 97.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Core Laboratories Trading Down 4.6 %

Shares of NYSE:CLB traded down $0.55 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $11.31. The stock had a trading volume of 478,231 shares, compared to its average volume of 392,352. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a current ratio of 2.32. The company has a market cap of $528.20 million, a PE ratio of 17.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.99. Core Laboratories Inc. has a 12-month low of $10.14 and a 12-month high of $25.13. The company's 50 day moving average is $13.87 and its 200-day moving average is $17.11.

Core Laboratories (NYSE:CLB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $123.59 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $125.09 million. Core Laboratories had a net margin of 5.99% and a return on equity of 16.24%. The firm's revenue was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.19 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Core Laboratories Inc. will post 0.96 EPS for the current year.

Core Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Monday, May 5th will be given a $0.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 5th. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.35%. Core Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on CLB. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Core Laboratories from $19.00 to $15.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. StockNews.com cut shares of Core Laboratories from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Core Laboratories from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $15.00 to $16.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $15.75.

Core Laboratories Profile

Core Laboratories Inc provides reservoir description and production enhancement services and products to the oil and gas industry in the United States, and internationally. It operates through Reservoir Description and Production Enhancement segments. The Reservoir Description segment includes the characterization of petroleum reservoir rock and reservoir fluid samples to enhance production and improve recovery of crude oil and gas from its clients' reservoirs.