PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Decreases Stake in SLB Limited $SLB

Key Points

• PNC Financial Services Group cut its SLB stake by 12.3% in the fourth quarter, selling 93,567 shares and ending with 668,294 shares valued at about $25.65 million.
• SLB reported Q1 earnings of $0.52 per share, edging past estimates, while revenue reached $8.72 billion, up 2.7% year over year but slightly below analyst expectations.
• Wall Street remains broadly positive on SLB, with an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.74; the company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.295 per share.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lowered its holdings in SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) by 12.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 668,294 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 93,567 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.'s holdings in SLB were worth $25,649,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of SLB in the third quarter worth $29,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of SLB in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC purchased a new position in shares of SLB in the third quarter worth $31,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in shares of SLB in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Steph & Co. raised its stake in shares of SLB by 97.5% in the fourth quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 798 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.99% of the company's stock.

SLB Stock Performance

Shares of SLB opened at $57.27 on Friday. 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 Limited has a one year low of $31.64 and a one year high of $57.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.01, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.72. The business has a fifty day moving average of $52.40 and a 200 day moving average of $46.43.

SLB (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $0.52 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $8.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.76 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.72 earnings per share. SLB's revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that SLB Limited will post 2.61 EPS for the current year.

SLB Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 3rd. SLB's payout ratio is currently 51.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SLB. Argus upgraded SLB to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on SLB from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on SLB from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on SLB from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered SLB from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Three 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $59.74.

Insider Activity

In other SLB news, EVP Steve Matthew Gassen sold 53,379 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,664,111.78. The trade was a 52.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director La Chevardiere Patrick De sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.33, for a total value of $108,660.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 16,953 shares of the company's stock, valued at $921,056.49. This represents a 10.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

SLB 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.