Highland Capital Management LLC Has $4.95 Million Holdings in SLB Limited $SLB

Highland Capital Management LLC lessened its position in shares of SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 22.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 128,907 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 38,048 shares during the quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in SLB were worth $4,947,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in SLB during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC bought a new stake in SLB in the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in SLB in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Steph & Co. increased its holdings in SLB by 97.5% in the fourth quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 798 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new stake in SLB in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at SLB

In other SLB news, EVP Steve Matthew Gassen sold 53,379 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 47,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,664,111.78. This represents a 52.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on SLB from $54.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. TD Cowen upped their price target on SLB from $55.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Citigroup upped their target price on SLB from $59.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $61.00 target price on shares of SLB in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on SLB from $56.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, SLB presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.95.

SLB Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SLB opened at $55.70 on Tuesday. SLB Limited has a fifty-two week low of $31.64 and a fifty-two week high of $57.20. The stock has a market cap of $83.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.32, a PEG ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.34. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $50.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $44.45.

SLB (NYSE:SLB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.01. SLB had a net margin of 9.26% and a return on equity of 15.54%. The business had revenue of $8.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.76 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.72 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that SLB Limited will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLB Announces Dividend

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

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.