Swedbank AB Increases Stock Holdings in SLB Limited $SLB

Key Points

• Swedbank AB boosted its SLB stake by 24.4% in the fourth quarter, ending with 617,630 shares valued at about $23.7 million.
• SLB reported quarterly earnings of $0.52 per share, slightly beating estimates, while revenue came in at $8.72 billion and rose 2.7% year over year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.295 per share and said analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $58.95.

Swedbank AB raised its stake in SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) by 24.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 617,630 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 121,174 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB's holdings in SLB were worth $23,705,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Steph & Co. grew its stake in shares of SLB by 97.5% in the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 798 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in shares of SLB in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of SLB in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of SLB in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Strengthening Families & Communities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of SLB in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SLB Stock Up 0.4%

SLB opened at $53.21 on Friday. The business's fifty day moving average is $50.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.34. The company has a market cap of $79.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.24, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.72. SLB Limited has a one year low of $31.64 and a one year high of $57.20.

SLB (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Saturday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $8.72 billion for 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%.SLB's quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.72 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that SLB Limited will post 2.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLB Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.295 per share. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 3rd. SLB's payout ratio is presently 51.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on SLB shares. Argus upgraded SLB to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on SLB from $52.30 to $56.10 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Freedom Capital downgraded SLB from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Citigroup lifted their price target on SLB from $59.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on SLB from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, SLB presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $58.95.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other SLB news, EVP Steve Matthew Gassen sold 53,379 shares of the business's 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 directly owned 47,421 shares in the company, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director La Chevardiere Patrick De sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 10.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by 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.

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