The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Decreases Stock Holdings in SLB Limited $SLB

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its position in shares of SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 7.5% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,101,826 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 89,047 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in SLB were worth $56,623,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Abel Hall LLC increased its position in shares of SLB by 2.7% in the first quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 7,535 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $387,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the period. Private Wealth Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of SLB by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Private Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 5,041 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $193,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its holdings in shares of SLB by 9.3% during the first quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 2,503 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $129,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of SLB by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 10,288 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $395,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Davis Capital Management grew its stake in shares of SLB by 1.0% in the first quarter. Davis Capital Management now owns 21,968 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,129,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at SLB

In other SLB news, Director La Chevardiere Patrick De sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.33, for a total transaction of $108,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 16,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $921,056.49. This trade represents a 10.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Steve Matthew Gassen sold 53,379 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 owned 47,421 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,664,111.78. This trade represents a 52.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup lowered their price target on SLB from $68.00 to $63.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on SLB from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on SLB from $59.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. UBS Group decreased their target price on SLB from $69.00 to $66.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on SLB from $54.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.35.

SLB News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting SLB this week:

• Positive Sentiment: SLB beat second-quarter expectations, reporting $0.55 in earnings per share versus the $0.51 consensus estimate and $8.97 billion in revenue versus $8.67 billion expected. Revenue increased 5% year over year, supporting the view that international oilfield-services activity remains resilient. The results also increased attention on energy ETFs with significant SLB exposure, including IEZ, OIH and XLE. Here’s How SLB’s Q2 Earnings Impact Energy ETFs
• Positive Sentiment: BMO Capital Markets raised its SLB price target to $63, while Morgan Stanley said the stock is expected to rise. Goldman Sachs reiterated a Buy rating with a $62 target, citing an international recovery, data-center expansion opportunities and potential for above-peer earnings and returns. These targets imply meaningful upside from recent trading levels. BMO Capital Markets Increases SLB Price Target to $63.00 SLB Stock Price Expected to Rise, Morgan Stanley Analyst Says
• Positive Sentiment: Longer-term valuation analysis described SLB as reasonably priced, with potential upside based on discounted cash-flow estimates. Offshore scale, digital services, production gains from ChampionX and data-center infrastructure initiatives are cited as growth drivers. SLB Stock Looks Reasonable Despite Its Five Year Run
• Neutral Sentiment: SLB has attracted unusually high investor and Zacks.com user interest following its earnings report, but the attention itself does not establish a clear change in fundamentals or valuation. SLB Is Attracting Investor Attention
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research downgraded SLB from “hold” to “strong sell,” likely weighing on sentiment and helping explain why the stock has decreased despite the earnings beat and bullish broker targets. Zacks Downgrades SLB
• Negative Sentiment: Near-term risks include Middle East disruptions, uncertainty around oil prices, elevated net debt and the possibility that earnings growth will take longer to materialize. SLB’s $0.55 quarterly EPS also remained below the $0.74 reported in the prior-year period. SLB Growth Outlook Hinges on Offshore, Digital and Production Gains

SLB Stock Performance

Shares of SLB opened at $49.07 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.05. SLB Limited has a one year low of $31.64 and a one year high of $58.82. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $50.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $50.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.36 billion, a PE ratio of 23.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.72.

SLB (NYSE:SLB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, July 25th. The oil and gas company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.04. SLB had a return on equity of 14.05% and a net margin of 8.53%.The business had revenue of $8.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.67 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.74 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that SLB Limited will post 2.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLB Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.295 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 2nd. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. SLB’s payout ratio is currently 57.00%.

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.