National Pension Service Buys 178,164 Shares of SLB Limited $SLB

Key Points

• National Pension Service increased its SLB stake by 9.0% in the fourth quarter, adding 178,164 shares and bringing its total holding to 2,151,682 shares worth about $82.6 million.
• Several Wall Street firms remain constructive on SLB, with recent price-target hikes from UBS, TD Cowen, and JPMorgan; the stock now carries an average Moderate Buy rating and a $59.74 target price.
• SLB reported quarterly EPS of $0.52, slightly ahead of estimates, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.295 per share, equal to an annualized yield of about 2.2%.

National Pension Service raised its stake in shares of SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) by 9.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,151,682 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after acquiring an additional 178,164 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.14% of SLB worth $82,582,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Steph & Co. boosted its position in SLB by 97.5% during the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 798 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in SLB during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in SLB during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. bought a new stake in SLB during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new stake in SLB during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors own 81.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on SLB. UBS Group increased their target price on SLB from $61.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $65.00 price objective on shares of SLB in a report on Sunday, April 26th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on SLB from $55.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings lowered SLB from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on SLB from $54.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Three research 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 given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $59.74.

SLB Stock Performance

Shares of SLB opened at $54.44 on Friday. SLB Limited has a 12 month low of $31.64 and a 12 month high of $58.82. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $53.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $47.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market cap of $81.39 billion, a PE ratio of 23.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.72.

SLB (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.01. SLB had a return on equity of 15.54% and a net margin of 9.26%.The firm had revenue of $8.72 billion during 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 business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that SLB Limited will post 2.62 earnings per share 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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 3rd. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. SLB's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Steve Matthew Gassen sold 53,379 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.18, for a total value of $2,998,832.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 47,421 shares in the company, valued at $2,664,111.78. This trade represents a 52.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, 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 value of $108,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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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