Highland Capital Management LLC Sells 38,048 Shares of SLB Limited $SLB

Key Points

• Highland Capital Management cut its SLB stake by 22.8%, selling 38,048 shares and leaving it with 128,907 shares valued at about $4.95 million at quarter-end.
• SLB EVP Steve Matthew Gassen sold 53,379 shares on May 1 at $56.18 (≈$3.0 million), reducing his personal holding by 52.96% to 47,421 shares.
• SLB announced a quarterly dividend of $0.295 per share (annualized $1.18, yield ~2.1%; ex-dividend June 3), and shares trade near $55.70 with a consensus analyst target of about $58.95 while some banks (e.g., Citi) raised targets as high as $68.

Highland Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) by 22.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 128,907 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 38,048 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC's holdings in SLB were worth $4,947,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of SLB. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of SLB by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,719,469 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $65,993,000 after purchasing an additional 42,212 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in SLB in the fourth quarter valued at $313,000. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co increased its holdings in SLB by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 391,652 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $15,032,000 after buying an additional 2,400 shares during the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC raised its position in SLB by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 16,574 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $636,000 after acquiring an additional 254 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co grew its position in shares of SLB by 18.0% in the 4th quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 11,767 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $452,000 after acquiring an additional 1,798 shares during the period. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other SLB news, EVP Steve Matthew Gassen sold 53,379 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.18, for a total transaction of $2,998,832.22. Following the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

SLB Stock Performance

Shares of SLB stock opened at $55.70 on Tuesday. SLB Limited has a fifty-two week low of $31.64 and a fifty-two week high of $57.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.32, a P/E/G ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.72. The company's 50 day moving average price is $50.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $44.45.

SLB (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Saturday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.01. SLB had a net margin of 9.26% and a return on equity of 15.54%. The firm had revenue of $8.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.76 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.72 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that SLB Limited will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLB Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.295 per share. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 3rd. SLB's payout ratio is presently 51.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on SLB. Morgan Stanley set a $57.00 price objective on shares of SLB in a report on Monday, April 27th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on SLB from $59.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings upgraded SLB from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on SLB from $54.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on SLB from $53.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, SLB currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $58.95.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding SLB? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.