Americana Partners LLC Purchases 87,990 Shares of SLB Limited $SLB

Key Points

• Americana Partners increased its SLB position by 72% in the third quarter, acquiring 87,990 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 210,179 shares valued at approximately $10.24 million.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.99% of SLB, although two company insiders recently sold shares, including transactions by Dianne Ralston and Chief Accounting Officer Howard Guild.
• Analysts maintain a broadly positive outlook, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $61.52; SLB also exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations and declared a $0.295 quarterly dividend.

Americana Partners LLC increased its position in SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) by 72.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 210,179 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after acquiring an additional 87,990 shares during the quarter. Americana Partners LLC's holdings in SLB were worth $10,240,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of SLB by 0.8% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 91,222,641 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $4,267,269,000 after acquiring an additional 722,060 shares during the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of SLB by 1.9% during the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 28,913,733 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,344,199,000 after acquiring an additional 537,566 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in SLB in the second quarter valued at about $1,339,567,000. Amundi raised its stake in shares of SLB by 15.8% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 19,815,245 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $921,211,000 after acquiring an additional 2,698,766 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in SLB by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 15,901,998 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $817,246,000 after acquiring an additional 169,468 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.99% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at SLB

In related news, insider Dianne Ralston sold 20,986 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.57, for a total value of $1,124,220.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 205,053 shares in the company, valued at $10,984,689.21. This trade represents a 9.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Howard Guild sold 10,047 shares of SLB stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.65, for a total transaction of $539,021.55. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 12,845 shares of the company's stock, valued at $689,134.25. This represents a 43.89% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on SLB shares. Citigroup decreased their target price on SLB from $63.00 to $62.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of SLB from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of SLB from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of SLB from $75.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of SLB from $66.00 to $63.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Twenty-four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $61.52.

SLB Price Performance

NYSE:SLB opened at $53.78 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.83. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $52.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $51.37. SLB Limited has a 12-month low of $34.65 and a 12-month high of $60.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

SLB (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $9.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.27 billion. SLB had a return on equity of 13.77% and a net margin of 8.40%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.69 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that SLB Limited will post 2.46 earnings per share for the current year.

SLB Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 2nd will be paid a $0.2950 dividend. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 2nd. SLB's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.28%.

SLB Company Profile

SLB, formerly known as Schlumberger, is a global energy technology company that provides products, services and digital solutions to the oil and gas industry. Its offerings support the exploration, development and production of hydrocarbon resources across the life cycle of an oil or gas field.

The company provides reservoir characterization, drilling and well-construction services, well completion and production technologies, and equipment for subsea and surface operations. SLB also develops software, data and automation solutions designed to help energy companies improve operational efficiency, manage reservoirs and reduce emissions.

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