SLB (NYSE:SLB) Stock Breaks Below 50 Day Moving Average After Insider Selling

Key Points

• SLB shares fell below their 50-day moving average, trading as low as $52.23 after two insiders sold a combined 31,033 shares worth approximately $1.66 million.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with 24 Buy ratings, three Holds and one Sell; the stock has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $61.52 target price.
• SLB reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with $0.64 adjusted EPS and $9.45 billion in revenue, while declaring a quarterly dividend of $0.295 per share, equating to a 2.3% yield.

SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report)'s stock price crossed below its 50 day moving average during trading on Monday following insider selling activity. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $52.47 and traded as low as $52.23. SLB shares last traded at $52.2510, with a volume of 11,724,804 shares changing hands.

Specifically, insider Dianne Ralston sold 20,986 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.57, for a total transaction of $1,124,220.02. Following the sale, the insider owned 205,053 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,984,689.21. The trade was 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 this link. Also, CAO Howard Guild sold 10,047 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.65, for a total value of $539,021.55. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 12,845 shares in the company, valued at $689,134.25. The trade was a 43.89% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SLB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $62.00 target price (down from $63.00) on shares of SLB in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their target price on shares of SLB from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of SLB from $63.00 to $62.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of SLB in a research report on Friday. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of SLB from $63.00 to $62.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 19th. Twenty-four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, SLB presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $61.52.

SLB Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.39. The stock has a market cap of $77.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.83. The business's 50-day moving average price is $52.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $51.40.

SLB (NYSE:SLB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.02. SLB had a net margin of 8.40% and a return on equity of 13.77%. The company had revenue of $9.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.69 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that SLB Limited will post 2.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLB Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.2950 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. SLB's dividend payout ratio is presently 57.28%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Evergreen Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in SLB in the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Costello Asset Management INC boosted its position in shares of SLB by 93.3% during the first quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 580 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 280 shares during the period. Arlington Trust Co LLC boosted its position in shares of SLB by 66.5% during the second quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 701 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 280 shares during the period. Signature Equity Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of SLB by 42.5% during the third 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 during the period. Finally, Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of SLB during the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 81.99% of the company's stock.

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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