Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Grows Position in SLB Limited $SLB

Key Points

• Generali Asset Management increased its SLB stake by 11% in the fourth quarter, ending with 199,457 shares valued at about $7.66 million. The filing also notes that institutional investors own a large majority of the stock, at 81.99%.
• SLB posted mixed first-quarter results, with earnings per share of $0.52 beating estimates by a penny while revenue of $8.72 billion came in slightly below expectations. Revenue still rose 2.7% from a year earlier.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.295 per share, payable July 9, for an annualized yield of 2.2%. Meanwhile, analysts remain broadly positive, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.95.

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR increased its stake in shares of SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) by 11.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 199,457 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after acquiring an additional 19,834 shares during the quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR's holdings in SLB were worth $7,655,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Steph & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of SLB by 97.5% during the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 798 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in shares of SLB during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of SLB in the third quarter worth about $29,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of SLB in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Strengthening Families & Communities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of SLB in the third quarter worth about $31,000. 81.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SLB Trading Up 0.4%

SLB opened at $53.21 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $50.88 and a 200 day moving average of $44.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. SLB Limited has a 12 month low of $31.64 and a 12 month high of $57.20. The firm has a market cap of $79.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.24, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.72.

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

SLB Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.295 per share. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 3rd. SLB's dividend payout ratio is presently 51.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director La Chevardiere Patrick De sold 2,000 shares of the firm'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. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 47,421 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,664,111.78. The trade was a 52.96% 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 owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SLB has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings cut SLB from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group upped their price objective on SLB from $61.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Susquehanna increased their target price on SLB from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of SLB from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of SLB from $55.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $58.95.

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.

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