SLB Limited $SLB Shares Sold by Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc.

Key Points

• Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its stake in SLB by 9.5% in Q4, selling 30,238 shares and now holding 287,584 shares valued at about $11.04 million (≈1.6% of its portfolio, its 24th largest position).
• EVP Steve Matthew Gassen sold 53,379 SLB shares on May 1 at an average $56.18 for roughly $2.998 million, cutting his position by 52.96%; company insiders own only 0.16% of SLB stock.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of Moderate Buy on SLB with a $58.95 price target; the stock trades near $57.00, has an $85.2 billion market cap, and pays a $0.295 quarterly dividend (≈2.1% yield).

Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) by 9.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 287,584 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 30,238 shares during the period. SLB makes up approximately 1.6% of Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in SLB were worth $11,037,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in SLB during the third quarter worth $29,000. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC purchased a new stake in SLB during the third quarter worth $31,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in SLB during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Steph & Co. boosted its position in SLB by 97.5% during the fourth quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 798 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in SLB during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SLB has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded SLB from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 14th. Citigroup boosted their target price on SLB from $59.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Argus upgraded SLB to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on SLB from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Freedom Capital downgraded SLB from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, SLB presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $58.95.

SLB Stock Performance

NYSE SLB opened at $57.00 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $50.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $44.37. SLB Limited has a twelve month low of $31.64 and a twelve month high of $57.20. The company has a market capitalization of $85.22 billion, a PE ratio of 24.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.72. 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 released its earnings results on Saturday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.01. SLB had a return on equity of 15.54% and a net margin of 9.26%.The firm had revenue of $8.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.76 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.72 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that SLB Limited will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current year.

SLB Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 9th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 3rd. SLB's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.53%.

Insider Activity at SLB

In other news, EVP Steve Matthew Gassen sold 53,379 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 47,421 shares in the company, valued at $2,664,111.78. This trade represents a 52.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.