SLB Limited $SLB Shares Purchased by Gabelli Funds LLC

Key Points

• Gabelli Funds LLC raised its stake in SLB by 9.9% to 839,723 shares (about $28.9M) in Q3, and institutional investors now own roughly 81.99% of the company, with notable large purchases such as Bank Pictet & Cie (+1,937% to 996,948 shares).
• SLB beat quarterly expectations with $0.78 EPS vs. $0.74 and $9.75B revenue vs. $9.54B (revenue +5% YoY), and multiple analysts have raised price targets leaving a consensus "Moderate Buy" and a $52.96 target.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $0.295 (annualized $1.18, ~2.5% yield), while insiders have sold about 156,902 shares (~$7.8M) over the past 90 days.

Gabelli Funds LLC raised its stake in SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) by 9.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 839,723 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 75,785 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC owned about 0.06% of SLB worth $28,861,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SLB. Synergy Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of SLB by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 80,830 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $2,732,000 after buying an additional 40,415 shares during the last quarter. Americana Partners LLC lifted its position in SLB by 10.1% in the third quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 248,057 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $8,526,000 after acquiring an additional 22,706 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its stake in SLB by 13.8% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 210,056 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $7,220,000 after acquiring an additional 25,417 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of SLB by 4.9% during the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,157,885 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $72,354,000 after purchasing an additional 100,918 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its position in shares of SLB by 1,937.4% during the third quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 996,948 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $34,265,000 after purchasing an additional 948,015 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.99% of the company's stock.

SLB Stock Down 1.1%

SLB opened at $46.86 on Friday. SLB Limited has a 52 week low of $31.11 and a 52 week high of $52.45. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $47.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a market cap of $70.41 billion, a PE ratio of 19.77, a P/E/G ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.68.

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 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 company had revenue of $9.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.54 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.92 EPS. The company's revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that SLB Limited will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

SLB Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 11th will be paid a $0.295 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 11th. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. This is an increase from SLB's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. SLB's dividend payout ratio is presently 49.79%.

Insider Activity at SLB

In other news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.70, for a total value of $2,982,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 140,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,987,919.40. This trade represents a 29.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Stephane Biguet sold 61,017 shares of SLB stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.70, for a total transaction of $3,032,544.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 155,548 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,730,735.60. The trade was a 28.17% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 156,902 shares of company stock worth $7,796,666 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on SLB shares. Wall Street Zen raised SLB from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on SLB from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Evercore set a $54.00 price objective on SLB and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Bank of America increased their price objective on SLB from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of SLB from $51.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, February 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, SLB presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $52.96.

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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