21,093,188 Shares in SLB Limited $SLB Bought by Norges Bank

Key Points

• Norges Bank disclosed a new position in SLB, buying 21.1 million shares in the fourth quarter worth about $809.6 million, representing roughly 1.41% of the company.
• SLB reported Q1 earnings of $0.52 per share, edging past estimates, while revenue came in at $8.72 billion, slightly below consensus but still up 2.7% year over year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.295 per share to be paid July 9, and analysts remain generally positive with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $59.74.

Norges Bank bought a new position in SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 21,093,188 shares of the oil and gas company's stock, valued at approximately $809,557,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.41% of SLB as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its position in SLB by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 10,288 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $395,000 after buying an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC raised its position in SLB by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 5,540 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $213,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in SLB by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,281 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $318,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in SLB by 10.0% in the 4th quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,641 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $101,000 after buying an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance raised its position in SLB by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 13,402 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $514,000 after buying an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SLB Stock Down 1.2%

SLB stock opened at $54.44 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.34. The company has a market capitalization of $81.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.77, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.72. SLB Limited has a fifty-two week low of $31.64 and a fifty-two week high of $58.82. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $53.52 and a 200-day moving average of $47.12.

SLB (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $8.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.76 billion. SLB had a return on equity of 15.54% and a net margin of 9.26%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.72 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that SLB Limited will post 2.62 earnings per share for the current year.

SLB Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.295 per share. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 3rd. SLB's payout ratio is presently 51.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley set a $57.00 price target on SLB in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $65.00 price target on shares of SLB in a research report on Sunday, April 26th. UBS Group increased their price target on SLB from $61.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. TD Cowen increased their price target on SLB from $55.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on SLB from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $59.74.

Insider Transactions at SLB

In other SLB news, Director La Chevardiere Patrick De sold 2,000 shares of SLB stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.33, for a total transaction of $108,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 16,953 shares of the company's stock, valued at $921,056.49. The trade was a 10.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Steve Matthew Gassen sold 53,379 shares of SLB stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.18, for a total value of $2,998,832.22. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 47,421 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,664,111.78. The trade was a 52.96% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

SLB Company Profile

SLB NYSE: SLB, historically known as Schlumberger, is a leading global provider of technology, integrated project management and information solutions for the energy industry. Founded by Conrad and Marcel Schlumberger in 1926, the company develops and supplies products and services used across the exploration, drilling, completion and production phases of oil and gas development. Its offerings are intended to help operators characterize reservoirs, drill and complete wells, optimize production and manage field operations throughout the asset lifecycle.

SLB's product and service portfolio spans reservoir characterization and well testing, wireline and logging services, directional drilling and drilling tools, well construction and completion technologies, production systems, and subsea equipment.

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