Employees Provident Fund Board Makes New Investment in SLB Limited $SLB

Employees Provident Fund Board acquired a new stake in SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 2,797,057 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $107,351,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SLB. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in SLB during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of SLB during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in shares of SLB during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Steph & Co. raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. acquired a new stake in SLB in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

SLB Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE SLB opened at $48.12 on Friday. SLB Limited has a 1-year low of $31.64 and a 1-year high of $58.82. The company has a market capitalization of $71.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.01, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.70. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $54.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

SLB (NYSE:SLB) last issued its earnings results on Saturday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $8.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.76 billion. SLB had a return on equity of 15.54% and a net margin of 9.26%.SLB’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.72 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that SLB Limited will post 2.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLB Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 3rd. SLB’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on SLB shares. Morgan Stanley set a $57.00 target price on shares of SLB in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $64.00 target price on shares of SLB in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of SLB from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on SLB from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on SLB from $54.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.83.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director La Chevardiere Patrick De sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.33, for a total value of $108,660.00. Following the sale, the director owned 16,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $921,056.49. This represents a 10.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Steve Matthew Gassen sold 53,379 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.18, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 52.96% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.