Syntax Research Inc. Has $101,000 Stock Position in SLB Limited $SLB

Key Points

• Syntax Research Inc. trimmed its stake in SLB by 93.8% in Q4, selling 39,984 shares and leaving 2,626 shares worth about $101,000.
• SLB reported Q1 EPS of $0.52 (vs. $0.51 estimate) on $8.72B revenue (slightly below estimates), and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.295 (annualized $1.18, ~2.1% yield).
• Insider and market signals: EVP Steve Gassen sold ~53,379 shares (~$3.0M), institutional ownership is about 81.99%, and analysts' consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $58.95.

Syntax Research Inc. trimmed its position in SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) by 93.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,626 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 39,984 shares during the quarter. Syntax Research Inc.'s holdings in SLB were worth $101,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in SLB during the third quarter worth $29,000. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC bought a new position in SLB during the third quarter worth $31,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in SLB during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Steph & Co. increased 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 acquiring an additional 394 shares during the period. Finally, Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new position in SLB during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors own 81.99% of the company's stock.

SLB Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of SLB stock opened at $57.00 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.65 billion, a PE ratio of 24.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The company's fifty day moving average price is $50.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $44.29. SLB Limited has a 52-week low of $31.64 and a 52-week high of $57.20.

SLB (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $8.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.76 billion. SLB had a net margin of 9.26% and a return on equity of 15.54%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.72 EPS. On average, analysts expect that SLB Limited will post 2.6 EPS for the current year.

SLB Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 3rd will be issued a $0.295 dividend. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 3rd. SLB's payout ratio is 51.53%.

Insider Transactions at SLB

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 shares were sold at an average price of $56.18, for a total value of $2,998,832.22. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 47,421 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,664,111.78. The trade was a 52.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of SLB from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of SLB from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of SLB from $54.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of SLB from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of SLB from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $58.95.

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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