Kensington Investment Counsel LLC Makes New $4.21 Million Investment in SLB Limited $SLB

Kensington Investment Counsel LLC bought a new position in SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 81,856 shares of the oil and gas company's stock, valued at approximately $4,207,000. SLB makes up about 2.0% of Kensington Investment Counsel LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Evergreen Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of SLB in the 1st quarter worth $26,000. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of SLB in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of SLB in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Costello Asset Management INC increased its holdings in shares of SLB by 93.3% in the 1st quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 580 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 280 shares during the period. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in SLB in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.99% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting SLB

Here are the key news stories impacting SLB this week:

• Positive Sentiment: SLB beat second-quarter expectations, reporting $0.55 in earnings per share versus the $0.51 consensus estimate and $8.97 billion in revenue versus $8.67 billion expected. Revenue increased 5% year over year, supporting the view that international oilfield-services activity remains resilient. The results also increased attention on energy ETFs with significant SLB exposure, including IEZ, OIH and XLE. Here's How SLB's Q2 Earnings Impact Energy ETFs
• Positive Sentiment: BMO Capital Markets raised its SLB price target to $63, while Morgan Stanley said the stock is expected to rise. Goldman Sachs reiterated a Buy rating with a $62 target, citing an international recovery, data-center expansion opportunities and potential for above-peer earnings and returns. These targets imply meaningful upside from recent trading levels. BMO Capital Markets Increases SLB Price Target to $63.00 SLB Stock Price Expected to Rise, Morgan Stanley Analyst Says
• Positive Sentiment: Longer-term valuation analysis described SLB as reasonably priced, with potential upside based on discounted cash-flow estimates. Offshore scale, digital services, production gains from ChampionX and data-center infrastructure initiatives are cited as growth drivers. SLB Stock Looks Reasonable Despite Its Five Year Run
• Neutral Sentiment: SLB has attracted unusually high investor and Zacks.com user interest following its earnings report, but the attention itself does not establish a clear change in fundamentals or valuation. SLB Is Attracting Investor Attention
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research downgraded SLB from “hold” to “strong sell,” likely weighing on sentiment and helping explain why the stock has decreased despite the earnings beat and bullish broker targets. Zacks Downgrades SLB
• Negative Sentiment: Near-term risks include Middle East disruptions, uncertainty around oil prices, elevated net debt and the possibility that earnings growth will take longer to materialize. SLB’s $0.55 quarterly EPS also remained below the $0.74 reported in the prior-year period. SLB Growth Outlook Hinges on Offshore, Digital and Production Gains

Insider Activity

In related news, Director La Chevardiere Patrick De sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director directly owned 16,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $921,056.49. This represents a 10.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Steve Matthew Gassen sold 53,379 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 47,421 shares in the company, valued at $2,664,111.78. The trade was 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 company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SLB has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of SLB from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Barclays boosted their price target on SLB from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of SLB from $68.00 to $63.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Zacks Research downgraded shares of SLB from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on SLB from $59.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, SLB presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $61.35.

SLB Price Performance

NYSE:SLB opened at $49.07 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. SLB Limited has a 52 week low of $31.64 and a 52 week high of $58.82. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $50.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $50.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.36 billion, a PE ratio of 23.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.72.

SLB (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Saturday, July 25th. The oil and gas company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $8.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.67 billion. SLB had a return on equity of 14.05% and a net margin of 8.53%.The business's revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.74 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that SLB Limited will post 2.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLB Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.295 per share. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 2nd. SLB's payout ratio is currently 57.00%.

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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