Aberdeen Group plc Boosts Holdings in SLB Limited $SLB

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc increased its stake in SLB by 2.1% to 1,665,074 shares (about $63.9M), and institutional investors now own roughly 81.99% of the company with several funds materially adding to positions (e.g., Bank Pictet +948,015 shares).
• SLB beat quarterly estimates with $0.78 EPS versus $0.74 expected and revenue of $9.75B vs. $9.54B, and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.295 (annualized $1.18, ~2.4% yield).
• Insiders sold a total of 156,902 shares (~$7.8M) last quarter (including an EVP sale), while analysts maintain a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a consensus price target of $53.16.

Aberdeen Group plc lifted its holdings in SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,665,074 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 34,835 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc owned approximately 0.11% of SLB worth $63,906,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in SLB by 100.0% during the third quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 80,830 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $2,732,000 after purchasing an additional 40,415 shares during the last quarter. Americana Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of SLB by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 248,057 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $8,526,000 after buying an additional 22,706 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of SLB by 13.8% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 210,056 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $7,220,000 after buying an additional 25,417 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in SLB by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,157,885 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $72,354,000 after acquiring an additional 100,918 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its stake in SLB by 1,937.4% during the 3rd quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 996,948 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $34,265,000 after acquiring an additional 948,015 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.99% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at SLB

In other SLB news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.70, for a total value of $2,982,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 140,602 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,987,919.40. This represents a 29.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director La Chevardiere Patrick De sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.29, for a total transaction of $201,160.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 19,525 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $981,912.25. This trade represents a 17.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 156,902 shares of company stock valued at $7,796,666 in the last quarter. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of SLB in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Citigroup boosted their target price on SLB from $53.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Freedom Capital downgraded SLB from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of SLB in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of SLB to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $53.16.

SLB Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of SLB stock opened at $49.44 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $49.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.81. SLB Limited has a 12-month low of $31.11 and a 12-month high of $54.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market cap of $74.28 billion, a PE ratio of 20.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.69.

SLB (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $9.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.54 billion. SLB had a return on equity of 17.45% and a net margin of 9.45%.SLB's quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.92 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that SLB Limited will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLB Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 11th were issued a dividend of $0.295 per share. This is an increase from SLB's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 11th. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. SLB's payout ratio is 49.79%.

About SLB

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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