Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in SLB Limited $SLB

Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. lessened its holdings in SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 20.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 260,000 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 67,300 shares during the period. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in SLB were worth $13,361,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Citizens National Bank Trust Department boosted its stake in SLB by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Citizens National Bank Trust Department now owns 12,576 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $646,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC raised its position in shares of SLB by 4.0% during the first quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 10,459 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $568,000 after buying an additional 404 shares during the last quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its holdings in shares of SLB by 41.6% in the first quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,280,458 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $65,803,000 after buying an additional 376,305 shares in the last quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG lifted its holdings in shares of SLB by 203.9% in the first quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG now owns 46,452 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,387,000 after buying an additional 31,166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. bought a new position in shares of SLB during the first quarter worth $267,000. Institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at SLB

In other news, EVP Steve Matthew Gassen sold 53,379 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.18, for a total transaction of $2,998,832.22. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 47,421 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,664,111.78. This trade represents a 52.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director La Chevardiere Patrick De sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.33, for a total value of $108,660.00. Following the sale, the director 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

SLB Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of SLB opened at $47.38 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. SLB Limited has a 12-month low of $31.64 and a 12-month high of $58.82. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $52.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $50.05.

SLB (NYSE:SLB) last issued its earnings results on Saturday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $8.76 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.72 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that SLB Limited will post 2.59 earnings per share for the current year.

SLB Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 3rd were given a dividend of $0.295 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 3rd. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. SLB’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on SLB from $54.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings downgraded SLB from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on SLB from $55.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $61.00 target price on shares of SLB in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reduced their target price on shares of SLB from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.80.

SLB Company 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.