Associated Banc Corp Buys New Stake in SLB Limited $SLB

Key Points

• Associated Banc Corp opened a new position in SLB, buying 64,103 shares worth about $3.12 million; institutional investors and hedge funds own nearly 82% of the stock.
• SLB reported quarterly EPS of $0.64, topping the $0.62 consensus, while revenue reached $9.45 billion and rose 5.8% year over year.
• SLB declared a quarterly dividend of $0.295 per share, equivalent to a 2.3% annualized yield. Analysts’ consensus rating is “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $61.52.

Associated Banc Corp purchased a new stake in SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 64,103 shares of the oil and gas company's stock, valued at approximately $3,123,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Abel Hall LLC grew its position in SLB by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 7,535 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $387,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of SLB by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 5,712 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $266,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the period. Signature Equity Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of SLB by 42.5% during the third quarter. Signature Equity Partners LLC now owns 751 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. TOWER TRUST & INVESTMENT Co lifted its position in SLB by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. TOWER TRUST & INVESTMENT Co now owns 18,696 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $911,000 after buying an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cypress Capital Group boosted its holdings in shares of SLB by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Cypress Capital Group now owns 12,308 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $633,000 after buying an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at SLB

In other SLB news, insider Dianne Ralston sold 20,986 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.57, for a total transaction of $1,124,220.02. Following the transaction, the insider owned 205,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,984,689.21. This represents a 9.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Howard Guild sold 10,047 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.65, for a total transaction of $539,021.55. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 12,845 shares in the company, valued at $689,134.25. This represents a 43.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

SLB Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SLB opened at $51.44 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $52.39 and a 200-day moving average of $51.45. The stock has a market cap of $75.92 billion, a PE ratio of 20.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.80. SLB Limited has a fifty-two week low of $34.65 and a fifty-two week high of $60.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.39.

SLB (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. SLB had a return on equity of 13.77% and a net margin of 8.40%. The company had revenue of $9.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.69 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that SLB Limited will post 2.46 earnings per share for the current year.

SLB Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 2nd will be paid a $0.2950 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. SLB's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.28%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Susquehanna increased their price target on SLB from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of SLB from $66.00 to $63.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 26th. Capital One Financial lowered their price target on shares of SLB from $64.00 to $63.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of SLB from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on SLB from $63.00 to $62.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Twenty-four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, SLB currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $61.52.

SLB 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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