SLB Limited $SLB Shares Acquired by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 2.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. 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 owned 0.15% of SLB worth $105,502,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SLB. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in SLB by 21.4% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,611 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $253,000 after buying an additional 1,166 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of SLB during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $238,000. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in shares of SLB during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $8,628,000. Nebula Research & Development LLC boosted its stake in shares of SLB by 76.0% during the 2nd quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC now owns 24,373 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $824,000 after acquiring an additional 10,522 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of SLB by 7.6% during the 2nd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,326 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $373,000 after acquiring an additional 799 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

SLB Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of SLB opened at $53.66 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 1-year low of $31.64 and a 1-year high of $58.82. The stock has a market cap of $79.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.73. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $51.34.

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

SLB Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

SLB has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group lowered their price target on SLB from $69.00 to $66.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Citigroup decreased their target price on SLB from $68.00 to $63.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Morgan Stanley upped 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. Zacks Research cut SLB from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of SLB in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, SLB has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.35.

More SLB News

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

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.