WINTON GROUP Ltd Raises Stock Holdings in SLB Limited $SLB

Key Points

• WINTON GROUP Ltd sharply increased its SLB stake by 958.9% in the fourth quarter, buying 284,800 additional shares and bringing its total to 314,500 shares worth about $12.1 million.
• Wall Street sentiment remains constructive on SLB, with multiple analysts raising price targets and the stock carrying a Moderate Buy consensus and an average target of $60.67.
• SLB reported quarterly earnings of $0.52 per share, slightly ahead of estimates, and also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.295 per share, yielding about 2.2%.

WINTON GROUP Ltd boosted its holdings in SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB - Free Report) by 958.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 314,500 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after buying an additional 284,800 shares during the quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd's holdings in SLB were worth $12,071,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in SLB in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in SLB in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Steph & Co. raised its position in SLB by 97.5% in the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 798 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of SLB during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its position in shares of SLB by 37.0% during the 4th quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 841 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of SLB from $59.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of SLB from $56.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of SLB in a research report on Sunday, April 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of SLB from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $61.00 price target on shares of SLB in a research report on Monday, April 27th. 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 given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $60.67.

Insider Activity at SLB

In related news, Director La Chevardiere Patrick De sold 2,000 shares of the 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 directly owned 16,953 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $921,056.49. This represents a 10.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Steve Matthew Gassen sold 53,379 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 47,421 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,664,111.78. This represents a 52.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

SLB Price Performance

NYSE SLB opened at $54.79 on Friday. SLB Limited has a 52 week low of $31.64 and a 52 week high of $58.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.92, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $54.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $47.80.

SLB (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Saturday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $8.72 billion during 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.72 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that SLB Limited will post 2.62 earnings per share for the current year.

SLB Dividend Announcement

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

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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