SLB Limited $SLB Shares Purchased by Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc.

Key Points

• Nippon Life Global Investors Americas increased its SLB position by 147.9% in the third quarter, owning 171,740 shares valued at approximately $8.4 million. Institutional investors collectively hold 81.99% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive view, with 24 Buy ratings, three Holds and one Sell. SLB has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $61.52, compared with its recent price of $53.78.
• SLB exceeded quarterly expectations with adjusted earnings of $0.64 per share and revenue of $9.45 billion, while revenue rose 5.8% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.295 per share, representing a 2.2% annualized yield.

Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. lifted its position in SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) by 147.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 171,740 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 102,450 shares during the period. Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc.'s holdings in SLB were worth $8,406,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in SLB during the 3rd quarter valued at $90,918,000. Cidel Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of SLB in the third quarter valued at about $690,000. Americana Partners LLC increased its position in shares of SLB by 72.0% in the third quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 210,179 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $10,240,000 after acquiring an additional 87,990 shares during the period. State of Wyoming bought a new position in shares of SLB during the third quarter valued at about $272,000. Finally, Soltis Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of SLB by 7.3% during the third quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 175,315 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $8,541,000 after acquiring an additional 11,991 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.99% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at SLB

In other news, CAO Howard Guild sold 10,047 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.65, for a total transaction of $539,021.55. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 12,845 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $689,134.25. This trade represents a 43.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Dianne Ralston sold 20,986 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.57, for a total value of $1,124,220.02. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 205,053 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,984,689.21. The trade was a 9.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on SLB shares. Freedom Broker upgraded shares of SLB from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $48.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, October 26th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of SLB in a report on Friday. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their price target on SLB from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 25th. Raymond James Financial dropped their price objective on SLB from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Evercore lifted their price objective on SLB from $63.00 to $66.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Twenty-four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $61.52.

SLB Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE:SLB opened at $53.78 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.11, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.02. SLB Limited has a one year low of $34.65 and a one year high of $60.46. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $52.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $51.37.

SLB (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.02. SLB had a return on equity of 13.77% and a net margin of 8.40%. The company had revenue of $9.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.69 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that SLB Limited will post 2.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLB Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 2nd will be paid a $0.2950 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. SLB's dividend payout ratio is currently 57.28%.

About SLB

SLB, formerly known as Schlumberger, is a global energy technology company that provides products, services and digital solutions to the oil and gas industry. Its offerings support the exploration, development and production of hydrocarbon resources across the life cycle of an oil or gas field.

The company provides reservoir characterization, drilling and well-construction services, well completion and production technologies, and equipment for subsea and surface operations. SLB also develops software, data and automation solutions designed to help energy companies improve operational efficiency, manage reservoirs and reduce emissions.

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