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

Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. cut its stake in shares of SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 51.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,850 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 13,500 shares during the period. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in SLB were worth $660,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of SLB during the fourth quarter worth approximately $809,557,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in SLB by 64.4% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 15,696,831 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $602,444,000 after buying an additional 6,149,511 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in SLB by 50.6% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 16,635,566 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $638,473,000 after buying an additional 5,589,585 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in SLB by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 83,617,999 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,898,037,000 after buying an additional 5,466,786 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Investors increased its stake in SLB by 86.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,627,072 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $446,247,000 after buying an additional 5,404,948 shares during the period. 81.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on SLB. Barclays raised their target price on shares of SLB from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of SLB from $68.00 to $63.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of SLB from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $64.00 price objective on shares of SLB in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $57.00 price objective on SLB in a report on Monday, April 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.17.

SLB Stock Performance

NYSE SLB opened at $45.09 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $53.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.67. The company has a market capitalization of $67.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.69, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.72. SLB Limited has a 1-year low of $31.64 and a 1-year high of $58.82. 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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.01. SLB had a return on equity of 15.54% and a net margin of 9.26%.The company had revenue of $8.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.76 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.72 earnings per share. SLB’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that SLB Limited will post 2.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLB Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 3rd will be given a $0.295 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 3rd. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. SLB’s payout ratio is currently 51.53%.

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 sale, the executive vice president owned 47,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,664,111.78. This represents a 52.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director La Chevardiere Patrick De sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.33, for a total transaction of $108,660.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 16,953 shares in the company, valued at $921,056.49. This represents a 10.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

SLB 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.