Alberta Investment Management Corp Purchases 801,800 Shares of SLB Limited $SLB

Key Points

• Alberta Investment Management Corp sharply increased its SLB stake in Q4, buying 801,800 additional shares and boosting its holdings by 826.6% to 898,800 shares worth about $34.5 million.
• SLB’s latest quarter beat earnings expectations slightly, with EPS of $0.52 versus $0.51 expected, while revenue came in just below estimates at $8.72 billion and rose 2.7% year over year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.295 per share, implying a $1.18 annual payout and a 2.5% yield; analysts currently rate the stock Moderate Buy with an average target price of $60.83.

Alberta Investment Management Corp increased its position in SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) by 826.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 898,800 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after buying an additional 801,800 shares during the quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp owned 0.06% of SLB worth $34,496,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Private Wealth Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in SLB by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Private Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 5,041 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $193,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of SLB by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 10,288 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $395,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC raised its position in shares of SLB by 37.0% in the 4th quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 841 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of SLB by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC now owns 15,298 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $587,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the period. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 236 shares during the period. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

SLB Price Performance

SLB opened at $48.12 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $71.95 billion, a PE ratio of 21.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.70. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $54.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $49.03. SLB Limited has a 1 year low of $31.64 and a 1 year high of $58.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

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

SLB Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 3rd will be given a $0.295 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 3rd. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. SLB's payout ratio is 51.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SLB has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on SLB from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $61.00 target price on shares of SLB in a research report on Tuesday. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of SLB from $56.10 to $71.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Morgan Stanley set a $57.00 price target on shares of SLB in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of SLB from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 14th. 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, SLB currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $60.83.

Key Headlines Impacting SLB

Here are the key news stories impacting SLB this week:

• Positive Sentiment: SLB launched a new Digital Marketplace for AI tools and applications, expanding its digital ecosystem and reinforcing its software growth strategy. SLB Expands Digital Reach With New AI Marketplace Platform
• Positive Sentiment: Management signaled a long-term push to double digital business revenue and core profit by 2030, with reports also highlighting up to $2 billion in digital revenue and $10 billion in annual digital spending opportunities. SLB aims to double digital business revenue up to $2B by 2030
• Positive Sentiment: Traders showed strong bullish positioning, with unusual options activity skewing toward calls and volume running well above normal.
• Neutral Sentiment: SLB received added visibility after CEO Olivier Le Peuch appeared on CNBC with Jim Cramer and the company’s investor-day commentary continued to circulate among investors. SLB CEO Olivier Le Peuch goes one-on-one with Jim Cramer
• Neutral Sentiment: Market interest also picked up after reports noted SLB and Nvidia’s long-running partnership and the company became a trending stock on Zacks, which may be amplifying trading volume. Nvidia's Next Huge Bet: Drill, Baby, Drill!

Insider Activity

In other news, Director La Chevardiere Patrick De sold 2,000 shares of SLB stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.33, for a total value of $108,660.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 16,953 shares in the company, valued at $921,056.49. The trade was a 10.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Steve Matthew Gassen sold 53,379 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.18, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

SLB 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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