Qsemble Capital Management LP Raises Stock Holdings in SLB Limited $SLB

Key Points

• Qsemble Capital Management increased its stake in SLB by 45% in the fourth quarter, buying 63,255 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 203,950 shares worth about $7.83 million.
• Insider selling was reported, including EVP Steve Matthew Gassen and Director Patrick De La Chevardiere, while institutional investors still own the vast majority of the stock at 81.99%.
• SLB reported better-than-expected quarterly EPS of $0.52 and continues to draw upbeat analyst sentiment, with several firms raising price targets and the consensus rating sitting at Moderate Buy.

Qsemble Capital Management LP grew its stake in SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) by 45.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 203,950 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after acquiring an additional 63,255 shares during the quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP's holdings in SLB were worth $7,828,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Americana Partners LLC lifted its position in SLB by 10.1% during the third quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 248,057 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $8,526,000 after buying an additional 22,706 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of SLB by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,677,257 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $57,647,000 after acquiring an additional 147,175 shares during the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of SLB by 512.6% during the 3rd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 610,611 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $21,157,000 after acquiring an additional 510,929 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management purchased a new position in shares of SLB during the 3rd quarter worth about $2,530,000. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of SLB by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 1,879,137 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $64,586,000 after acquiring an additional 54,600 shares during the period. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at SLB

In other 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,664,111.78. The trade was a 52.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director La Chevardiere Patrick De sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.33, for a total value of $108,660.00. Following the sale, the director owned 16,953 shares of the company's stock, valued at $921,056.49. The trade was a 10.55% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

SLB Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:SLB opened at $55.33 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.34. SLB Limited has a 1 year low of $31.64 and a 1 year high of $57.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.16, a PEG ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.72. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $51.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $45.70.

SLB (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Saturday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 analysts' expectations of $8.76 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.72 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that SLB Limited will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current year.

SLB Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.295 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 3rd. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. SLB's payout ratio is presently 51.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on SLB shares. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of SLB from $55.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $64.00 price target on shares of SLB in a report on Monday, April 27th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of SLB from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of SLB from $56.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of SLB from $56.10 to $71.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, SLB presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $59.74.

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.

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