SLB Limited $SLB Stock Position Trimmed by Sanders Morris Harris LLC

Key Points

• Sanders Morris Harris LLC cut its SLB position by 88.4% in Q4, selling 292,050 shares and leaving 38,500 shares worth $1.455 million (SLB is its 5th largest holding).
• SLB beat Q4 estimates with $0.78 EPS (vs. $0.74) and $9.75 billion revenue (up 5% y/y), and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.295 ($1.18 annual, ~2.5% yield).
• Multiple analysts raised price targets (consensus a Moderate Buy with an average target of $53.16), even as insiders have been net sellers recently (EVP sold 60,000 shares and insiders sold 156,902 shares in the last 90 days).

Sanders Morris Harris LLC cut its position in SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) by 88.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 38,500 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 292,050 shares during the period. SLB makes up 2.3% of Sanders Morris Harris LLC's holdings, making the stock its 5th largest position. Sanders Morris Harris LLC's holdings in SLB were worth $1,455,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of SLB by 21.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,611 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $253,000 after acquiring an additional 1,166 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of SLB during the fourth quarter worth $238,000. Wealthspire Advisors LLC acquired a new position in SLB during the second quarter valued at $278,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its position in SLB by 33.1% during the second quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 55,946 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,969,000 after purchasing an additional 13,908 shares during the period. Finally, Ensign Peak Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in SLB by 34.2% in the second quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 185,666 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $6,276,000 after purchasing an additional 47,316 shares during the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SLB Stock Down 2.5%

SLB stock opened at $46.61 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.03 billion, a PE ratio of 19.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.68. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $48.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.78. SLB Limited has a 12 month low of $31.11 and a 12 month high of $52.45.

SLB (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $9.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.54 billion. SLB had a net margin of 9.45% and a return on equity of 17.45%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.92 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that SLB Limited will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLB Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 11th will be given a $0.295 dividend. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. This is a positive change from SLB's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 11th. SLB's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on SLB from $43.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Susquehanna upped their target price on SLB from $52.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. TD Cowen raised their target price on SLB from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Citigroup lifted their price target on SLB from $53.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Evercore set a $54.00 price target on SLB and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Three equities 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat, SLB has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $53.16.

Insider Buying and Selling at SLB

In related news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.70, for a total transaction of $2,982,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 140,602 shares in the company, valued at $6,987,919.40. This represents a 29.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director La Chevardiere Patrick De sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.29, for a total transaction of $201,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 19,525 shares in the company, valued at $981,912.25. This represents a 17.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 156,902 shares of company stock valued at $7,796,666. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

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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