SLB Limited $SLB Shares Sold by Anchor Capital Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Anchor Capital Advisors LLC cut its SLB stake by 13.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 36,159 shares and leaving it with 231,578 shares valued at about $8.9 million.
• Insiders also sold shares: EVP Steve Matthew Gassen sold 53,379 shares and Director Patrick De La Chevardiere sold 2,000 shares, while insiders now own just 0.16% of the company.
• Analysts remain broadly upbeat on SLB, with several firms raising price targets and the stock carrying a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average target of $59.74.

Anchor Capital Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in shares of SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) by 13.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 231,578 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 36,159 shares during the quarter. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in SLB were worth $8,888,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of SLB by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 10,288 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $395,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of SLB by 37.0% during the 4th quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 841 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its position in shares of SLB by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 5,540 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $213,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of SLB by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,281 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $318,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of SLB by 10.0% during the 4th quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,641 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $101,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other SLB news, EVP Steve Matthew Gassen sold 53,379 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 47,421 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,664,111.78. This represents a 52.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director La Chevardiere Patrick De sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $921,056.49. This trade represents a 10.55% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SLB has been the subject of several analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on SLB from $56.10 to $71.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on SLB from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on SLB from $54.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Morgan Stanley set a $57.00 target price on SLB in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on SLB from $55.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $59.74.

SLB Stock Performance

Shares of SLB stock opened at $56.57 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $84.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.70. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $53.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.32. SLB Limited has a 12-month low of $31.64 and a 12-month high of $58.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

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. The business had revenue of $8.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.76 billion. SLB had a return on equity of 15.54% and a net margin of 9.26%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.72 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that SLB Limited will post 2.62 EPS for the current year.

SLB Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 3rd will be issued a $0.295 dividend. 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 51.53%.

About SLB

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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