Heartland Advisors Inc. Takes $6.65 Million Position in SLB Limited $SLB

Key Points

• Heartland Advisors opened a new position in SLB during the first quarter, buying 129,428 shares valued at about $6.65 million.
• Institutional ownership remains high, with hedge funds and other investors holding 81.99% of SLB shares, even as some insiders sold stock recently.
• Analysts are broadly optimistic on SLB: the stock has a Moderate Buy consensus rating and an average price target of $60.30, above its recent trading level around $47.

Heartland Advisors Inc. bought a new position in SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 129,428 shares of the oil and gas company's stock, valued at approximately $6,651,000.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on SLB shares. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of SLB from $69.00 to $66.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $54.00 price target on shares of SLB in a report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of SLB from $55.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of SLB from $56.10 to $71.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of SLB in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $62.00 price objective on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $60.30.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director La Chevardiere Patrick De sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 16,953 shares in the company, valued at $921,056.49. The trade was a 10.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 47,421 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,664,111.78. This represents a 52.96% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

SLB Stock Performance

SLB stock opened at $47.01 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $51.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $50.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.34 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 $58.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $8.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.76 billion. SLB had a net margin of 9.26% and a return on equity of 15.54%. The company's revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.72 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that SLB Limited will post 2.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLB Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 3rd were given a dividend of $0.295 per share. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 3rd. SLB's dividend payout ratio is presently 51.53%.

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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