Capital International Investors Raises Stock Holdings in SLB Limited $SLB

Key Points

• Capital International Investors boosted its SLB stake by 3.9% to 6,222,124 shares (about 0.42% of the company), valued at roughly $213.9 million at quarter-end.
• Multiple firms raised price targets and ratings on SLB, leaving the consensus as a Moderate Buy with an average target price of $52.96.
• SLB raised its quarterly dividend to $0.295 (annualized $1.18) for a ~2.5% yield, with an ex-dividend date of February 11 and payment on April 2.

Capital International Investors boosted its position in shares of SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) by 3.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,222,124 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after acquiring an additional 232,560 shares during the quarter. Capital International Investors owned about 0.42% of SLB worth $213,855,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SLB. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in SLB by 21.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,611 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $253,000 after buying an additional 1,166 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC purchased a new position in SLB during the 4th quarter worth approximately $238,000. Penserra Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in SLB by 69.4% during the 2nd quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 18,047 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $609,000 after acquiring an additional 7,394 shares during the period. AE Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of SLB by 73.6% in the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 37,836 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,279,000 after acquiring an additional 16,040 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC purchased a new stake in shares of SLB in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,574,000. 81.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SLB has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of SLB from $43.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of SLB from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Evercore set a $54.00 price target on SLB and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on SLB from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price objective on SLB from $52.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $52.96.

SLB Price Performance

NYSE:SLB opened at $48.16 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $48.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $40.31. SLB Limited has a 1-year low of $31.11 and a 1-year high of $52.45. The firm has a market cap of $72.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.68.

SLB (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.04. SLB had a net margin of 9.45% and a return on equity of 17.45%. The firm had revenue of $9.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.92 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 11th will be given a dividend of $0.295 per share. This is a boost from SLB's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 11th. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. SLB's payout ratio is 49.79%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Stephane Biguet sold 61,017 shares of SLB stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.70, for a total value of $3,032,544.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 155,548 shares in the company, valued at $7,730,735.60. The trade was a 28.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Howard Guild sold 13,268 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.70, for a total value of $659,419.60. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 22,407 shares in the company, valued at $1,113,627.90. This represents a 37.19% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 156,902 shares of company stock worth $7,796,666. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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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