Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Raises Position in SLB Limited $SLB

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in shares of SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,269,354 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 53,224 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board’s holdings in SLB were worth $105,502,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of SLB in the second quarter worth approximately $1,339,567,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in SLB during the fourth quarter worth approximately $809,557,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in SLB by 50.6% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 16,635,566 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $638,473,000 after purchasing an additional 5,589,585 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in SLB by 7.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 83,617,999 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,898,037,000 after purchasing an additional 5,466,786 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 5,404,948 shares during the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting SLB

Here are the key news stories impacting SLB this week:

• Positive Sentiment: New North Sea carbon-storage contract: SLB was selected as strategic reservoir partner for Norway’s Havstjerne carbon-storage project. The company will provide reservoir technology and engineering services during the concept and front-end engineering and design phases, strengthening its position in Europe’s emerging carbon-capture and storage market. SLB selected as reservoir partner for Havstjerne carbon storage project
• Positive Sentiment: Potential Venezuelan growth opportunity: A contract with Venezuela’s state-run PDVSA reportedly gives SLB access to the country’s oilfield data. Access to data from one of the world’s largest oil-reserve holders could create opportunities for future reservoir evaluation, production optimization and oilfield-services work, though the commercial benefits remain uncertain. SLB gains access to Venezuela’s coveted oilfield data through contract
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO share sale: Chief Executive Olivier Le Peuch sold 25,000 SLB shares under a prearranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Because the transaction was scheduled in advance, it does not necessarily signal a change in management’s view of the company, but it can still attract investor attention. SLB CEO Olivier Le Peuch executes sale of 25,000 shares
• Negative Sentiment: Recent trading weakness: SLB declined in the prior session even as the broader market advanced, indicating some relative investor caution despite the new project announcements. SLB stock falls amid market uptick

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SLB has been the subject of several research reports. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of SLB in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $62.00 price objective for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on SLB from $56.10 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on SLB from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on SLB from $59.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $61.00 price target on shares of SLB in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.35.

SLB Price Performance

SLB opened at $53.66 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. SLB Limited has a 52-week low of $31.64 and a 52-week high of $58.82. The company has a 50 day moving average of $49.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $51.34. The company has a market cap of $79.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.92, a P/E/G ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.73.

SLB (NYSE:SLB) last issued its earnings results on Saturday, July 25th. The oil and gas company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $8.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.67 billion. SLB had a net margin of 8.53% and a return on equity of 14.05%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.74 EPS. On average, analysts expect that SLB Limited will post 2.5 earnings per share for the current year.

SLB Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 2nd will be issued a $0.295 dividend. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 2nd. SLB’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.00%.

SLB Company 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.