Ruffer LLP Makes New Investment in SLB Limited $SLB

Key Points

• Ruffer LLP established a new position in SLB, buying 1,146,543 shares worth about $44.07 million, which now represents 2.0% of Ruffer’s portfolio and is its 15th largest holding (Ruffer owns ~0.08% of SLB).
• Insider selling accelerated last quarter with 156,902 shares sold (~$7.8M), including CFO Stephane Biguet (61,017 shares) and Dianne B. Ralston (18,617), leaving insiders with just 0.16% ownership.
• Fundamentals and analyst view: SLB topped Q results (EPS $0.78 vs $0.74, revenue $9.75B), raised its quarterly dividend to $0.295 (annualized $1.18, yield 2.2%), and carries a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating with a $54.27 price target (Goldman Sachs raised its target to $60).

Ruffer LLP bought a new position in SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 1,146,543 shares of the oil and gas company's stock, valued at approximately $44,073,000. SLB makes up 2.0% of Ruffer LLP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Ruffer LLP owned approximately 0.08% of SLB at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of SLB by 23.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 185,374,879 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $6,371,335,000 after purchasing an additional 35,057,313 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of SLB by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 83,617,999 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $2,898,037,000 after purchasing an additional 5,466,786 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of SLB by 25.2% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 15,366,347 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $528,217,000 after purchasing an additional 3,094,764 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of SLB by 10.7% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 15,359,990 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $527,923,000 after purchasing an additional 1,490,859 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of SLB by 24.4% in the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 14,198,874 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $491,139,000 after purchasing an additional 2,783,134 shares in the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Dianne B. Ralston sold 18,617 shares of SLB 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 224,097 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,092,801.50. This trade represents a 7.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Stephane Biguet sold 61,017 shares of SLB stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.70, for a total value of $3,032,544.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 155,548 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,730,735.60. This trade represents a 28.17% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 156,902 shares of company stock worth $7,796,666. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Evercore set a $54.00 target price on SLB and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Argus raised SLB to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Loop Capital set a $48.00 price target on SLB in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on SLB from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $56.00 price target on SLB in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Three research 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 given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $54.27.

SLB Trading Up 1.2%

NYSE SLB opened at $52.83 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.29, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.69. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $50.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.35. SLB Limited has a 12 month low of $31.64 and a 12 month high of $54.80. 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 earnings results on Friday, January 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.54 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.92 EPS. The business's revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that SLB Limited will post 2.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLB Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 11th were given a dividend of $0.295 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 11th. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. This is a boost from SLB's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. SLB's payout ratio is 49.79%.

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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