SLB Limited $SLB Shares Purchased by First Eagle Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• First Eagle Investment Management increased its stake in SLB by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 27.7 million shares valued at about $1.06 billion.
• SLB shares were up 3.3% and opened at $55.00, near the top of their 52-week range of $31.64 to $57.20.
• The company reported better-than-expected earnings of $0.52 per share for the latest quarter and also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.295 per share, implying a 2.1% yield.

First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 27,718,458 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 174,564 shares during the period. SLB comprises approximately 1.9% of First Eagle Investment Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. First Eagle Investment Management LLC owned 1.85% of SLB worth $1,063,834,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in SLB by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 186,455,878 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $7,156,177,000 after purchasing an additional 1,080,999 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in 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 valued at $2,898,037,000 after purchasing an additional 5,466,786 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in 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 valued at $528,217,000 after purchasing an additional 3,094,764 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in 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 valued at $527,923,000 after purchasing an additional 1,490,859 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its holdings in SLB by 24.4% in the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 14,198,874 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $491,139,000 after purchasing an additional 2,783,134 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.99% of the company's stock.

SLB Stock Up 3.3%

SLB stock opened at $55.00 on Tuesday. The company's 50 day moving average price is $50.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $45.21. 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 fifty-two week low of $31.64 and a fifty-two week high of $57.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.02, a PEG ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.72.

SLB (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Saturday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.01. SLB had a net margin of 9.26% and a return on equity of 15.54%. The firm had revenue of $8.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.76 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.72 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that SLB Limited will post 2.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLB Dividend Announcement

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 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%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SLB has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of SLB from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of SLB from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of SLB from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 14th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of SLB from $55.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of SLB in a report on Sunday, April 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $59.74.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director La Chevardiere Patrick De sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.33, for a total transaction of $108,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 16,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $921,056.49. The trade was a 10.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Steve Matthew Gassen sold 53,379 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, 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 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.

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