SLB (NYSE:SLB) EVP Sells $2,998,832.22 in Stock

SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB) EVP Steve Matthew Gassen sold 53,379 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 47,421 shares in the company, valued at $2,664,111.78. This trade represents a 52.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

SLB Stock Up 0.2%

SLB stock traded up $0.12 during trading on Friday, hitting $57.00. 9,710,382 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,052,723. SLB Limited has a 1 year low of $31.64 and a 1 year high of $57.20. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $50.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.29. The stock has a market cap of $85.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

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

SLB Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.295 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 3rd. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. SLB’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on SLB. Morgan Stanley set a $57.00 target price on shares of SLB in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $61.00 price target on shares of SLB in a research note on Monday. Citigroup raised their price target on SLB from $59.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on SLB from $52.30 to $56.10 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Loop Capital set a $48.00 price target on SLB in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Three equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.95.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SLB

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Synergy Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of SLB by 100.0% in the third quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 80,830 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,732,000 after buying an additional 40,415 shares during the last quarter. Americana Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of SLB by 10.1% in the third quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 248,057 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $8,526,000 after buying an additional 22,706 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of SLB by 13.8% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 210,056 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $7,220,000 after buying an additional 25,417 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of SLB by 4.9% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,157,885 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $72,354,000 after buying an additional 100,918 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its holdings in shares of SLB by 1,937.4% in the third quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 996,948 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $34,265,000 after buying an additional 948,015 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.99% 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.