Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Acquires 1,994,140 Shares of SLB Limited $SLB

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management boosted its SLB stake by 51.4%, acquiring 1,994,140 shares to hold 5,870,666 shares (about 0.39% of SLB) valued at roughly $225.3 million.
• Insider selling has been notable: CFO Stéphane Biguet sold 61,017 shares on Jan. 26, and insiders disposed of 156,902 shares (~$7.8M) over the past three months, while corporate insiders now own 0.16% of the stock.
• Operational and market outlook: SLB beat Q4 EPS estimates ($0.78 vs. $0.74) with revenue up 5% to $9.75B, raised its quarterly dividend to $0.295 (2.4% yield), and carries a consensus "Moderate Buy" analyst target of $53.16.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) by 51.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,870,666 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,994,140 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.39% of SLB worth $225,316,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of SLB. Pacifica Partners Inc. boosted its stake in shares of SLB by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 99,373 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $3,995,000 after buying an additional 12,715 shares during the period. Goodman Financial Corp increased its stake in SLB by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Goodman Financial Corp now owns 360,378 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $13,831,000 after acquiring an additional 13,452 shares during the period. Fulton Bank N.A. raised its holdings in SLB by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 14,540 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $558,000 after acquiring an additional 1,113 shares in the last quarter. Financial Management Network Inc. raised its holdings in SLB by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Financial Management Network Inc. now owns 28,466 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,144,000 after acquiring an additional 309 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC lifted its position in shares of SLB by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 15,591 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $598,000 after acquiring an additional 1,115 shares during the period. 81.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at SLB

In related news, CFO Stephane Biguet sold 61,017 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.70, for a total transaction of $3,032,544.90. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 155,548 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,730,735.60. This trade represents a 28.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director La Chevardiere Patrick De sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.29, for a total value of $201,160.00. Following the sale, the director owned 19,525 shares in the company, valued at $981,912.25. This represents a 17.00% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 156,902 shares of company stock valued at $7,796,666. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

SLB Stock Performance

NYSE:SLB opened at $49.20 on Tuesday. SLB Limited has a twelve month low of $31.11 and a twelve month high of $52.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $48.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.93 billion, a PE ratio of 20.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.68.

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

SLB Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 11th will be paid a $0.295 dividend. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 11th. This is a positive change from SLB's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. SLB's payout ratio is currently 49.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on SLB from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of SLB from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of SLB in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of SLB from $52.30 to $56.10 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $56.00 price target on shares of SLB in a report on Monday, January 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $53.16.

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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