Manning & Napier Advisors LLC Has $6.32 Million Stake in SLB Limited $SLB

Key Points

• Manning & Napier Advisors cut its SLB stake by 10.7% in the fourth quarter, leaving it with 163,903 shares valued at about $6.32 million.
• Analysts remain mostly constructive on SLB, with recent target-price increases from firms like Stifel, RBC, Sanford C. Bernstein, and Goldman Sachs; the stock currently carries a Moderate Buy consensus and a $58.95 average target.
• SLB reported quarterly EPS of $0.52, slightly above estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.295 per share, for a 2.2% annualized yield.

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC trimmed its position in SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) by 10.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 163,903 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 19,546 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC's holdings in SLB were worth $6,318,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its position in SLB by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 10,288 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $395,000 after buying an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in SLB by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,281 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $318,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC grew its stake in shares of SLB by 1.6% during the 4th 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. apricus wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of SLB by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. apricus wealth LLC now owns 84,740 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $3,252,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in shares of SLB by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 3,277 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $126,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of SLB from $56.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $61.00 price target on shares of SLB in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of SLB from $52.30 to $56.10 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Weiss Ratings cut SLB from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on SLB from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $58.95.

SLB Price Performance

NYSE:SLB opened at $53.21 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.55 billion, a PE ratio of 23.24, a P/E/G ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.72. SLB Limited has a 1-year low of $31.64 and a 1-year high of $57.20. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $50.88 and a 200 day simple 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 (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.72 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that SLB Limited will post 2.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLB Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 3rd will be paid a $0.295 dividend. 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 (DPR) is 51.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other SLB 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 transaction of $108,660.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 16,953 shares of the company's stock, valued at $921,056.49. This trade represents a 10.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Steve Matthew Gassen sold 53,379 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company 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.

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