South Dakota Investment Council Decreases Position in SLB Limited $SLB

Key Points

• South Dakota Investment Council cut its SLB position by 11.7% in the first quarter, selling 65,536 shares and retaining 495,917 shares valued at approximately $25.5 million. Institutional investors overall still own nearly 82% of the company.
• SLB reported quarterly earnings of $0.55 per share and revenue of $8.97 billion, exceeding analyst expectations, while revenue rose 5% year over year. However, EPS declined from $0.74 in the prior-year quarter.
• SLB announced a quarterly dividend of $0.295 per share, equal to a 2.4% annualized yield. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $61.35, although recent insider share sales and downside risks remain concerns.

South Dakota Investment Council trimmed its stake in SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) by 11.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 495,917 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 65,536 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council's holdings in SLB were worth $25,485,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SLB. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in SLB by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 186,455,878 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $7,156,177,000 after buying an additional 1,080,999 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in SLB by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 84,417,217 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $3,263,998,000 after buying an additional 799,218 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in SLB by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 54,006,438 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $2,072,844,000 after acquiring an additional 1,458,650 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of SLB by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 37,095,243 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,423,716,000 after acquiring an additional 482,533 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of SLB by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 33,840,883 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,292,993,000 after acquiring an additional 510,747 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.99% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Steve Matthew Gassen sold 53,379 shares of SLB stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.18, for a total transaction of $2,998,832.22. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 47,421 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,664,111.78. The trade was a 52.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director La Chevardiere Patrick De sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 16,953 shares of the company's stock, valued at $921,056.49. The trade was a 10.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

SLB Stock Down 1.8%

NYSE:SLB opened at $49.07 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $73.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.72. SLB Limited has a twelve month low of $31.64 and a twelve month high of $58.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $50.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $50.74.

SLB (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, July 25th. The oil and gas company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $8.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.67 billion. SLB had a net margin of 8.53% and a return on equity of 14.05%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.74 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that SLB Limited will post 2.49 EPS for the current year.

SLB Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.295 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 2nd. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. SLB's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.00%.

More SLB News

Here are the key news stories impacting SLB this week:

• Positive Sentiment: SLB beat second-quarter expectations, reporting $0.55 in earnings per share versus the $0.51 consensus estimate and $8.97 billion in revenue versus $8.67 billion expected. Revenue increased 5% year over year, supporting the view that international oilfield-services activity remains resilient. The results also increased attention on energy ETFs with significant SLB exposure, including IEZ, OIH and XLE. Here's How SLB's Q2 Earnings Impact Energy ETFs
• Positive Sentiment: BMO Capital Markets raised its SLB price target to $63, while Morgan Stanley said the stock is expected to rise. Goldman Sachs reiterated a Buy rating with a $62 target, citing an international recovery, data-center expansion opportunities and potential for above-peer earnings and returns. These targets imply meaningful upside from recent trading levels. BMO Capital Markets Increases SLB Price Target to $63.00 SLB Stock Price Expected to Rise, Morgan Stanley Analyst Says
• Positive Sentiment: Longer-term valuation analysis described SLB as reasonably priced, with potential upside based on discounted cash-flow estimates. Offshore scale, digital services, production gains from ChampionX and data-center infrastructure initiatives are cited as growth drivers. SLB Stock Looks Reasonable Despite Its Five Year Run
• Neutral Sentiment: SLB has attracted unusually high investor and Zacks.com user interest following its earnings report, but the attention itself does not establish a clear change in fundamentals or valuation. SLB Is Attracting Investor Attention
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research downgraded SLB from “hold” to “strong sell,” likely weighing on sentiment and helping explain why the stock has decreased despite the earnings beat and bullish broker targets. Zacks Downgrades SLB
• Negative Sentiment: Near-term risks include Middle East disruptions, uncertainty around oil prices, elevated net debt and the possibility that earnings growth will take longer to materialize. SLB’s $0.55 quarterly EPS also remained below the $0.74 reported in the prior-year period. SLB Growth Outlook Hinges on Offshore, Digital and Production Gains

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on SLB. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of SLB from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of SLB from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research report on Monday. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of SLB from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Raymond James Financial dropped their target price on SLB from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on SLB from $54.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $61.35.

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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