ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. Boosts Holdings in SLB Limited $SLB

Key Points

• ASR Vermogensbeheer boosted its stake in SLB by 9.6% in Q4, adding 152,635 shares to hold 1,739,344 shares (about $66.75M), making SLB its 17th-largest holding.
• Multiple large institutions — including Vanguard, State Street, Dimensional, Northern Trust and Amundi — also increased positions, leaving about 81.99% of SLB owned by institutional investors.
• Analyst sentiment has improved with several target-price upgrades (Goldman Sachs, Bernstein, Susquehanna, Stifel, Citi), and MarketBeat shows a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $59.74.

ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. grew its holdings in shares of SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) by 9.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,739,344 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after acquiring an additional 152,635 shares during the quarter. SLB accounts for approximately 0.8% of ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V.'s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. owned approximately 0.12% of SLB worth $66,754,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of SLB by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 186,455,878 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $7,156,177,000 after acquiring an additional 1,080,999 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of SLB by 7.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 83,617,999 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $2,898,037,000 after acquiring an additional 5,466,786 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of SLB by 25.2% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 15,366,347 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $528,217,000 after acquiring an additional 3,094,764 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of SLB by 10.7% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 15,359,990 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $527,923,000 after acquiring an additional 1,490,859 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its stake in shares of SLB by 24.4% during the third quarter. Amundi now owns 14,198,874 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $491,139,000 after acquiring an additional 2,783,134 shares in the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SLB has been the topic of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of SLB from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of SLB from $52.30 to $56.10 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of SLB from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of SLB from $56.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of SLB from $59.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, SLB has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $59.74.

SLB Stock Performance

NYSE:SLB opened at $53.04 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $79.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.72. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $50.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $44.92. SLB Limited has a twelve month low of $31.64 and a twelve month high of $57.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

SLB (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $8.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.76 billion. SLB had a net margin of 9.26% and a return on equity of 15.54%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.72 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that SLB Limited will post 2.61 EPS for the current year.

SLB Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at SLB

In related news, EVP Steve Matthew Gassen sold 53,379 shares of SLB stock in a transaction on 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 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. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director La Chevardiere Patrick De sold 2,000 shares of SLB stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.33, for a total transaction of $108,660.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 16,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $921,056.49. This trade represents a 10.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

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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