SLB (NYSE:SLB) Insider Sells 20,986 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• SLB insider Dianne Ralston sold 20,986 shares at an average price of $53.57, generating approximately $1.12 million and reducing her ownership by 9.28%.
• SLB reported quarterly adjusted EPS of $0.64 and revenue of $9.45 billion, exceeding analyst estimates; revenue increased 5.8% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.295 per share, equivalent to an annualized $1.18 payout and a 2.2% yield. Analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with a $61.52 target price.

SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) insider Dianne Ralston sold 20,986 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.57, for a total value of $1,124,220.02. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 205,053 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,984,689.21. This trade represents a 9.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

SLB Price Performance

SLB traded down $0.03 during trading on Friday, hitting $53.78. The company's stock had a trading volume of 12,755,352 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,776,291. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.83. SLB Limited has a 12 month low of $34.65 and a 12 month high of $60.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $52.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $51.32.

SLB (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.02. SLB had a return on equity of 13.77% and a net margin of 8.40%. The firm had revenue of $9.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.69 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that SLB Limited will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLB Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 2nd will be given a $0.2950 dividend. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 2nd. SLB's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.28%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SLB

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Abel Hall LLC increased its stake in SLB by 2.7% during 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. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in SLB by 3.6% during the second quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 5,712 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $266,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares during the period. Signature Equity Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of SLB by 42.5% in the 3rd quarter. Signature Equity Partners LLC now owns 751 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. TOWER TRUST & INVESTMENT Co lifted its position in shares of SLB by 1.2% during the third quarter. TOWER TRUST & INVESTMENT Co now owns 18,696 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $911,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cypress Capital Group boosted its holdings in SLB by 1.9% in the first quarter. Cypress Capital Group now owns 12,308 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $633,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on SLB. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of SLB from $66.00 to $63.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on SLB from $63.00 to $62.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Evercore raised their price objective on SLB from $63.00 to $66.00 in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $66.00 price target (up from $65.00) on shares of SLB in a research report on Sunday, July 26th. Finally, Freedom Broker upgraded shares of SLB from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $48.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday. Twenty-four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, SLB currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $61.52.

About SLB

SLB, formerly known as Schlumberger, is a global energy technology company that provides products, services and digital solutions to the oil and gas industry. Its offerings support the exploration, development and production of hydrocarbon resources across the life cycle of an oil or gas field.

The company provides reservoir characterization, drilling and well-construction services, well completion and production technologies, and equipment for subsea and surface operations. SLB also develops software, data and automation solutions designed to help energy companies improve operational efficiency, manage reservoirs and reduce emissions.

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