SLB Limited $SLB Shares Sold by Gamco Investors INC. ET AL

Key Points

• Gamco Investors cut its SLB stake by 29.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 63,363 shares and ending with 153,787 shares worth about $5.9 million.
• SLB recently reported better-than-expected earnings of $0.52 per share, though revenue of $8.72 billion came in slightly below estimates. Analysts remain broadly positive, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a target price of $59.74.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.295 per share, payable July 9, which works out to an annualized yield of about 2.1%. Recent insider selling also included large share sales by an EVP and a director.

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL trimmed its holdings in shares of SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) by 29.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 153,787 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 63,363 shares during the quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL's holdings in SLB were worth $5,902,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in SLB by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,281 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $318,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance raised its holdings in SLB by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 13,402 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $514,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC raised its holdings in SLB by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 16,574 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $636,000 after acquiring an additional 254 shares during the last quarter. Finally, apricus wealth LLC raised its holdings in SLB by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. apricus wealth LLC now owns 84,740 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $3,252,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SLB has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $61.00 price objective on shares of SLB in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings lowered SLB from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Barclays boosted their price objective on SLB from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on SLB from $54.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of SLB from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $59.74.

SLB Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE SLB opened at $56.80 on Wednesday. SLB Limited has a twelve month low of $31.64 and a twelve month high of $57.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.92 billion, a PE ratio of 24.80, a PEG ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.72.

SLB (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 9.26% and a return on equity of 15.54%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.72 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that SLB Limited will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current year.

SLB Announces Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 3rd. SLB's dividend payout ratio is 51.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Steve Matthew Gassen sold 53,379 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.18, for a total value of $2,998,832.22. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 47,421 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,664,111.78. This represents a 52.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director La Chevardiere Patrick De sold 2,000 shares of SLB 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 directly owned 16,953 shares in the company, valued at $921,056.49. The trade was a 10.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate 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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