Empowered Funds LLC Sells 129,547 Shares of SLB Limited $SLB

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC reduced its SLB position by 27.1% in the first quarter, selling 129,547 shares and retaining 348,039 shares valued at approximately $17.9 million.
• Institutional investors own 81.99% of SLB, while insiders own just 0.16%; two executives also recently sold shares, including EVP Steve Matthew Gassen’s approximately $3.0 million transaction.
• SLB’s latest quarterly results beat expectations, with revenue of $8.97 billion and EPS of $0.55. Analysts maintain a broadly bullish outlook, reflected in a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $61.35 versus the stock’s $50 opening price.

Empowered Funds LLC lessened its position in SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) by 27.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 348,039 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 129,547 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in SLB were worth $17,886,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Abel Hall LLC raised its stake in shares of SLB by 2.7% during the first quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 7,535 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $387,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Private Wealth Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of SLB by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Private Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 5,041 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $193,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its stake in shares of SLB by 9.3% in the first quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 2,503 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $129,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its holdings in SLB by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 10,288 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $395,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the period. Finally, Davis Capital Management increased its holdings in SLB by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Davis Capital Management now owns 21,968 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,129,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.99% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other SLB news, EVP Steve Matthew Gassen sold 53,379 shares of SLB stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,664,111.78. The trade was a 52.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director La Chevardiere Patrick De sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.33, for a total value of $108,660.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 16,953 shares in the company, valued at $921,056.49. This trade represents a 10.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Key SLB News

Here are the key news stories impacting SLB this week:

• Positive Sentiment: SLB exceeded second-quarter expectations, reporting adjusted EPS of $0.55 versus the $0.51 consensus and revenue of $8.97 billion versus $8.67 billion. Sequential revenue growth, margin expansion and stronger cash-flow prospects have prompted analysts to raise forecasts. SLB Analysts Increase Their Forecasts After Upbeat Q2 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Several firms increased their targets: Morgan Stanley raised its target to $55 and kept an Overweight rating, while BMO lifted its target to $63 and maintained Outperform. Goldman Sachs reiterated Buy with a $62 target, citing international recovery and data-center-related digital expansion. Goldman Sachs SLB Rating
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts see a stronger 2027 outlook driven by offshore and deepwater activity, digital solutions, production gains from ChampionX and a gradual recovery in international markets. SLB’s Q4 outlook reportedly calls for revenue above $10 billion and an adjusted EBITDA margin of about 24%. SLB Growth Outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst consensus is broadly bullish, but the stock’s roughly $50 price remains near its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, suggesting investors are waiting for clearer evidence that the expected recovery will materialize.
• Negative Sentiment: Middle East well shutdowns and geopolitical uncertainty continue to weigh on near-term operations. Falling oil prices, potential delays in regional recovery and elevated net debt could limit earnings momentum and explain why some brokers previously reduced targets. SLB CEO Sends Clear Message on Oil Services Upcycle

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on SLB shares. Citigroup dropped their price objective on SLB from $68.00 to $63.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $61.00 target price on shares of SLB in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $66.00 price target on shares of SLB in a report on Monday. Raymond James Financial lowered their price objective on shares of SLB from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $66.00 price objective on shares of SLB in a report on Sunday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $61.35.

SLB Price Performance

Shares of SLB opened at $50.00 on Wednesday. SLB Limited has a fifty-two week low of $31.64 and a fifty-two week high of $58.82. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $50.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $50.71. The stock has a market cap of $74.76 billion, a PE ratio of 24.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.44.

SLB (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The oil and gas company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.04. SLB had a net margin of 8.53% and a return on equity of 14.05%. The firm had revenue of $8.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.67 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.74 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that SLB Limited will post 2.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLB Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.295 per share. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 2nd. SLB's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.00%.

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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