Rafferty Asset Management LLC Acquires 40,403 Shares of SLB Limited $SLB

Rafferty Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 14.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 317,643 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 40,403 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in SLB were worth $10,917,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of SLB during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in SLB in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Corsicana & Co. purchased a new position in SLB during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC bought a new position in SLB in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of SLB by 51.4% in the 2nd 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of SLB from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Susquehanna increased their target price on SLB from $52.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on SLB from $51.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 1st. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on SLB from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $49.00 price target on shares of SLB in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, SLB presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.38.

SLB Stock Performance

SLB stock opened at $51.34 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $46.70 and its 200 day moving average is $39.54. The company has a market capitalization of $77.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.66, a PEG ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.68. SLB Limited has a twelve month low of $31.11 and a twelve month high of $52.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

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

SLB Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend is Wednesday, February 11th. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. SLB’s payout ratio is currently 49.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling at SLB

In related news, CAO Howard Guild sold 13,268 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.70, for a total transaction of $659,419.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Dianne B. Ralston sold 18,617 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.50, for a total transaction of $921,541.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 224,097 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,092,801.50. The trade was a 7.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 156,902 shares of company stock worth $7,796,666 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.