Gabelli Funds LLC Trims Stock Position in SLB Limited $SLB

Gabelli Funds LLC lessened its stake in shares of SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 10.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 749,723 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 90,000 shares during the quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC’s holdings in SLB were worth $28,774,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in SLB in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in SLB in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC purchased a new stake in SLB in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in SLB in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Steph & Co. raised its position in SLB by 97.5% in the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 798 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on SLB. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $61.00 price objective on shares of SLB in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Freedom Capital downgraded shares of SLB from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of SLB from $56.10 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of SLB from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of SLB from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.74.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 value of $2,998,832.22. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 47,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,664,111.78. This represents a 52.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director La Chevardiere Patrick De sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 16,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $921,056.49. The trade was a 10.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

SLB Stock Performance

NYSE:SLB opened at $57.22 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. SLB Limited has a fifty-two week low of $31.64 and a fifty-two week high of $57.59. The stock has a market cap of $85.55 billion, a PE ratio of 24.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.90 and a beta of 0.72. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $51.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $45.92.

SLB (NYSE:SLB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $0.52 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $8.76 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.72 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that SLB Limited will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLB Dividend Announcement

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

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.