AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Has $4.50 Million Stock Holdings in SLB Limited $SLB

Key Points

• AustralianSuper trimmed its stake in SLB by 35.6% in Q3, selling 72,332 shares and now holds 130,787 shares valued at about $4.495 million per its SEC filing.
• SLB beat quarterly expectations (Q: $0.78 EPS vs. $0.74 est.; revenue $9.75B, +5% YoY) and carries a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $52.96.
• SLB raised its quarterly dividend to $0.295 (annualized $1.18) for a yield of roughly 2.5%, with an ex-dividend date of Feb. 11 and payment on April 2.

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd trimmed its stake in shares of SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) by 35.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 130,787 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 72,332 shares during the quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd's holdings in SLB were worth $4,495,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of SLB. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in SLB in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of SLB during the third quarter valued at $29,000. Corsicana & Co. acquired a new stake in shares of SLB in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC bought a new stake in shares of SLB in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC increased its position in shares of SLB by 51.4% during the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 1,004 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 341 shares in the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on SLB. Loop Capital set a $48.00 price target on shares of SLB in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Argus upgraded shares of SLB to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on SLB from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Freedom Capital cut SLB from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on SLB from $47.60 to $52.30 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $52.96.

SLB Trading Down 1.4%

SLB stock opened at $47.90 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. SLB Limited has a twelve month low of $31.11 and a twelve month high of $52.45. The company has a market cap of $71.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.21, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.68. The business has a fifty day moving average of $47.36 and a 200-day moving average of $39.83.

SLB (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $9.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.92 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that SLB Limited will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

SLB Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.295 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 11th. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. This is a boost from SLB's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. SLB's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.79%.

Insider Activity at SLB

In other SLB news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.70, for a total transaction of $2,982,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 140,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,987,919.40. This trade represents a 29.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director La Chevardiere Patrick De sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.29, for a total value of $201,160.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 19,525 shares of the company's stock, valued at $981,912.25. The trade was a 17.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 156,902 shares of company stock worth $7,796,666. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

SLB Company 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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