Vanguard Group Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in SLB Limited $SLB

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 23.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 185,374,879 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 35,057,313 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 0.12% of SLB worth $6,371,335,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of SLB in the second quarter worth $25,000. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in SLB during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Corsicana & Co. acquired a new position in SLB during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC bought a new stake in shares of SLB in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of SLB by 51.4% during the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 1,004 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 341 shares during the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SLB Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:SLB opened at $50.37 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $44.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.38. SLB Limited has a 1 year low of $31.11 and a 1 year high of $52.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.33 billion, a PE ratio of 21.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.72.

SLB (NYSE:SLB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $9.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.54 billion. SLB had a net margin of 9.45% and a return on equity of 17.45%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.92 EPS. Analysts expect that SLB Limited will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLB Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 11th will be given a dividend of $0.295 per share. This is a positive change from SLB’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 11th. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. SLB’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.79%.

Insider Transactions at SLB

In other news, CFO Stephane Biguet sold 61,017 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.70, for a total transaction of $3,032,544.90. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 155,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,730,735.60. This trade represents a 28.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Howard Guild sold 13,268 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.70, for a total value of $659,419.60. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 22,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,113,627.90. This trade represents a 37.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 162,402 shares of company stock worth $7,993,676. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SLB has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of SLB in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of SLB from $51.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 1st. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of SLB from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Barclays boosted their price target on SLB from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Loop Capital set a $48.00 price target on SLB in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.38.

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.