Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Takes $3.92 Million Position in SLB Limited $SLB

Key Points

• Louisiana State Employees Retirement System opened a new position in SLB during the first quarter, buying 76,200 shares valued at about $3.92 million.
• SLB reported Q1 earnings of $0.52 per share, slightly above analyst expectations, while revenue came in at $8.72 billion, just below forecasts and up 2.7% year over year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.295 per share and has received a generally favorable Wall Street view, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $60.83.

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in shares of SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 76,200 shares of the oil and gas company's stock, valued at approximately $3,916,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of SLB by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 186,455,878 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $7,156,177,000 after buying an additional 1,080,999 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of SLB by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 84,417,217 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $3,263,998,000 after acquiring an additional 799,218 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in SLB by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 54,006,438 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $2,072,844,000 after acquiring an additional 1,458,650 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in SLB by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 37,095,243 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,423,716,000 after acquiring an additional 482,533 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in SLB by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 33,840,883 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,292,993,000 after purchasing an additional 510,747 shares during the period. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

SLB Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE SLB opened at $46.95 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $54.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $49.37. SLB Limited has a 1 year low of $31.64 and a 1 year high of $58.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

SLB (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Saturday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $8.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.76 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.72 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that SLB Limited will post 2.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLB Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 3rd. SLB's payout ratio is currently 51.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on SLB. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of SLB from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on SLB from $54.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on SLB from $55.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. UBS Group upped their price target on SLB from $61.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on SLB from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $60.83.

Insider Activity at SLB

In related news, 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 transaction of $2,998,832.22. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 47,421 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,664,111.78. This represents a 52.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director La Chevardiere Patrick De sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director directly owned 16,953 shares of the company's stock, valued at $921,056.49. The trade was a 10.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

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.

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.