Swiss National Bank Grows Stake in SLB Limited $SLB

Key Points

• Swiss National Bank boosted its SLB stake by 7.2% in the first quarter, adding 294,900 shares and bringing its total holding to 4.38 million shares worth about $225.3 million.
• Insiders sold shares recently, including EVP Steve Matthew Gassen and Director Patrick De La Chevardiere, while institutional investors still own the vast majority of the stock at 81.99%.
• SLB reported Q1 earnings of $0.52 per share, edging past estimates, and it also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.295 per share, implying a 2.5% annualized yield.

Swiss National Bank increased its position in shares of SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) by 7.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 4,384,324 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 294,900 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned 0.29% of SLB worth $225,310,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Abel Hall LLC grew its holdings in SLB by 2.7% in the first quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 7,535 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $387,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Private Wealth Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of SLB by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Private Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 5,041 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $193,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its position in shares of SLB by 9.3% in the 1st quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 2,503 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $129,000 after buying an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its stake in SLB by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 10,288 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $395,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Davis Capital Management grew its stake in SLB by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Davis Capital Management now owns 21,968 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,129,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Steve Matthew Gassen sold 53,379 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 47,421 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,664,111.78. This trade represents a 52.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director La Chevardiere Patrick De sold 2,000 shares of SLB stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.33, for a total transaction of $108,660.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 16,953 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

SLB Stock Up 0.0%

SLB opened at $47.01 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $70.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.53, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.72. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $51.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $50.31. SLB Limited has a 52 week low of $31.64 and a 52 week high of $58.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

SLB (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Saturday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.01. The firm 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.72 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that SLB Limited will post 2.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLB Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.295 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 3rd. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. SLB's payout ratio is 51.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of SLB from $65.00 to $55.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $64.00 price target on shares of SLB in a research report on Monday, April 27th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of SLB from $69.00 to $66.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on shares of SLB from $56.10 to $71.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on SLB from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $60.30.

About SLB

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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