Dana Investment Advisors Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in SLB Limited $SLB

Key Points

• Dana Investment Advisors trimmed its SLB stake by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 23,343 shares and ending with 574,577 shares valued at about $22.1 million.
• SLB reported better-than-expected earnings of $0.52 per share, while revenue came in slightly below estimates at $8.72 billion; revenue still rose 2.7% year over year.
• Analysts remain mostly positive on the stock, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $59.74, while SLB also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.295 per share.

Dana Investment Advisors Inc. lowered its position in SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 574,577 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 23,343 shares during the quarter. SLB makes up approximately 0.6% of Dana Investment Advisors Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Dana Investment Advisors Inc.'s holdings in SLB were worth $22,052,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Qsemble Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of SLB by 45.0% during the fourth quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP now owns 203,950 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $7,828,000 after purchasing an additional 63,255 shares during the last quarter. Financial Security Advisor Inc. raised its position in SLB by 102.1% in the fourth quarter. Financial Security Advisor Inc. now owns 23,761 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $918,000 after acquiring an additional 12,003 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR raised its position in SLB by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 28,219 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,083,000 after acquiring an additional 619 shares in the last quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC purchased a new position in SLB in the fourth quarter worth $820,000. Finally, Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. raised its position in SLB by 20.7% in the fourth quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. now owns 44,650 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,714,000 after acquiring an additional 7,660 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.99% of the company's stock.

SLB Stock Down 0.8%

SLB stock opened at $55.33 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.72. SLB Limited has a fifty-two week low of $31.64 and a fifty-two week high of $57.20. The stock's fifty day moving average is $51.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $45.70.

SLB (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Saturday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $8.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.76 billion. SLB had a return on equity of 15.54% and a net margin of 9.26%.SLB's revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.72 earnings per share. Analysts predict that SLB Limited will post 2.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLB Announces Dividend

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 of this dividend is Wednesday, June 3rd. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. SLB's dividend payout ratio is 51.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on SLB shares. TD Cowen increased their price objective on SLB from $55.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on SLB from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on SLB from $54.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on SLB from $55.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut SLB from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $59.74.

Insider Buying and Selling at SLB

In other SLB news, EVP Steve Matthew Gassen sold 53,379 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.18, for a total value of $2,998,832.22. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 47,421 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,664,111.78. This represents a 52.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director La Chevardiere Patrick De sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.33, for a total value of $108,660.00. Following the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About SLB

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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