SLB Limited $SLB Stake Lessened by Gradient Investments LLC

Gradient Investments LLC reduced its position in shares of SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 22.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 91,181 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 26,330 shares during the quarter. Gradient Investments LLC’s holdings in SLB were worth $3,500,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SLB. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC grew its stake in shares of SLB by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 15,591 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $598,000 after purchasing an additional 1,115 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of SLB by 29.2% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 207,267 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $7,955,000 after purchasing an additional 46,793 shares in the last quarter. Peoples Bank KS acquired a new stake in SLB during the 4th quarter worth about $219,000. Wedmont Private Capital grew its position in SLB by 23.7% during the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 11,847 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $502,000 after purchasing an additional 2,268 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greenhaven Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of SLB during the 4th quarter valued at $178,883,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

SLB Stock Up 5.5%

SLB stock opened at $49.20 on Tuesday. SLB Limited has a twelve month low of $31.11 and a twelve month high of $52.45. The company has a market cap of $73.93 billion, a PE ratio of 20.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.68. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $48.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.91. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $9.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.92 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that SLB Limited will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

SLB Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 11th will be given a $0.295 dividend. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. This is an increase from SLB’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 11th. SLB’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.79%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Stephane Biguet sold 61,017 shares of SLB stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.70, for a total transaction of $3,032,544.90. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 155,548 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,730,735.60. The trade was a 28.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Dianne B. Ralston sold 18,617 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 224,097 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,092,801.50. This trade represents a 7.67% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 156,902 shares of company stock valued at $7,796,666. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on SLB shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on SLB from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $56.00 price objective on shares of SLB in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of SLB from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 14th. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of SLB from $52.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Argus upgraded SLB to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $53.16.

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.