Baker Avenue Asset Management LP Sells 73,598 Shares of SLB Limited $SLB

Key Points

• Baker Avenue Asset Management reduced its SLB stake by 14.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 73,598 shares and ending with 434,410 shares valued at about $16.7 million.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish on SLB, with several raising price targets; MarketBeat shows a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.74.
• SLB recently beat earnings expectations with Q1 EPS of $0.52 versus the $0.51 estimate, and the company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.295 per share, or $1.18 annually.

Baker Avenue Asset Management LP trimmed its holdings in shares of SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) by 14.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 434,410 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 73,598 shares during the quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP's holdings in SLB were worth $16,673,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Steph & Co. lifted its position in shares of SLB by 97.5% during the fourth quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 798 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of SLB during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in shares of SLB during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. bought a new stake in shares of SLB during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of SLB during the third quarter worth $29,000. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on SLB shares. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on SLB from $56.10 to $71.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on SLB from $55.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on SLB from $61.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on SLB from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on SLB from $55.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. 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 given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $59.74.

SLB Stock Performance

SLB stock opened at $56.53 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $53.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.94. The company has a market capitalization of $84.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.69, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.72. SLB Limited has a 1-year low of $31.64 and a 1-year high of $58.82.

SLB (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Saturday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $8.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.76 billion. SLB had a net margin of 9.26% and a return on equity of 15.54%. The firm's revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.72 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that SLB Limited will post 2.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLB Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 9th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. SLB's payout ratio is currently 51.53%.

Insider Transactions at SLB

In other SLB news, Director La Chevardiere Patrick De sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.33, for a total value of $108,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 16,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $921,056.49. The trade was a 10.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Steve Matthew Gassen sold 53,379 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.18, for a total transaction of $2,998,832.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 47,421 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,664,111.78. This represents a 52.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.