Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Invests $16.32 Million in SLB Limited $SLB

Key Points

• Massachusetts Financial Services bought a new position of 425,244 SLB shares in Q4 worth about $16.32 million, and institutional investors now own roughly 81.99% of the stock.
• SLB beat Q4 estimates with EPS of $0.78 versus $0.74 and revenue of $9.75 billion (up 5% YoY), and the company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.295 (annualized $1.18, ~2.3% yield).
• Insiders sold 156,902 shares (~$7.8 million) in the past 90 days (insiders own 0.16%), while analysts hold a "Moderate Buy" consensus with an average target of $54.27 and top targets up to $60.

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new position in shares of SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 425,244 shares of the oil and gas company's stock, valued at approximately $16,321,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of SLB. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of SLB by 21.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,611 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $253,000 after purchasing an additional 1,166 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of SLB during the 4th quarter worth $238,000. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in shares of SLB during the 2nd quarter worth $8,628,000. Nebula Research & Development LLC grew its holdings in shares of SLB by 76.0% during the 2nd quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC now owns 24,373 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $824,000 after purchasing an additional 10,522 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of SLB by 7.6% during the 2nd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,326 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $373,000 after purchasing an additional 799 shares in the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director La Chevardiere Patrick De sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.29, for a total transaction of $201,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 19,525 shares in the company, valued at $981,912.25. This trade represents a 17.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Dianne B. Ralston sold 18,617 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.50, for a total value of $921,541.50. Following the transaction, the insider owned 224,097 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,092,801.50. This trade represents a 7.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 156,902 shares of company stock valued at $7,796,666. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

SLB Stock Performance

Shares of SLB stock opened at $51.72 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $49.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.86. SLB Limited has a 12 month low of $31.64 and a 12 month high of $54.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.82, a PEG ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

SLB (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.04. SLB had a return on equity of 17.45% and a net margin of 9.45%.The firm had revenue of $9.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.54 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.92 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that SLB Limited will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

SLB Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 11th were paid a dividend of $0.295 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 11th. This is a positive change from SLB's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. SLB's payout ratio is 49.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on SLB shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on SLB from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $56.00 target price on SLB in a report on Monday, January 26th. Evercore set a $54.00 target price on SLB and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Freedom Capital lowered SLB from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, SLB has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $54.27.

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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