Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. Invests $812,000 in SLB Limited $SLB

Key Points

• Argonautica Private Wealth Management bought a new stake in SLB during the fourth quarter, purchasing 21,159 shares worth about $812,000.
• Insider selling was notable, with director Patrick De La Chevardiere and EVP Steve Matthew Gassen both selling shares in recent transactions. Corporate insiders now own just 0.16% of the stock.
• SLB’s latest quarter slightly beat EPS expectations at $0.52, while revenue came in just below estimates; analysts still rate the stock Moderate Buy with an average price target of $60.67.

Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 21,159 shares of the oil and gas company's stock, valued at approximately $812,000.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of SLB in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in shares of SLB in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Steph & Co. raised its holdings in shares of SLB by 97.5% in the fourth quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 798 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. acquired a new position in shares of SLB in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of SLB by 37.0% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director La Chevardiere Patrick De sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.33, for a total transaction of $108,660.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 16,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $921,056.49. This represents a 10.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Steve Matthew Gassen sold 53,379 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.18, for a total value of $2,998,832.22. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 47,421 shares in the company, 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on SLB shares. Citigroup boosted their price target on SLB from $59.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley set a $57.00 price objective on SLB in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on SLB from $56.10 to $71.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on SLB from $55.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price objective on SLB from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "positive" 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 given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $60.67.

SLB Trading Down 5.6%

Shares of SLB opened at $54.79 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $54.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.80. SLB Limited has a one year low of $31.64 and a one year high of $58.82. The company has a market capitalization of $81.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.34.

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

SLB Announces Dividend

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

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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