AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Sells 72,332 Shares of SLB Limited $SLB

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd lowered its position in SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 35.6% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 130,787 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 72,332 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd’s holdings in SLB were worth $4,495,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Howard Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in SLB by 3.2% in the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,165 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $315,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares during the period. Fielder Capital Group LLC raised its position in shares of SLB by 2.5% during the third quarter. Fielder Capital Group LLC now owns 12,137 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $417,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares during the period. Hedges Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of SLB by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Hedges Asset Management LLC now owns 35,000 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,203,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Gables Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of SLB by 31.6% in the 3rd quarter. Gables Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,250 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, LRI Investments LLC grew its position in shares of SLB by 21.7% in the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 1,785 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

SLB Stock Down 1.4%

SLB stock opened at $47.90 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. SLB Limited has a 1-year low of $31.11 and a 1-year high of $52.45. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $47.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $39.83. The company has a market cap of $71.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.68.

SLB (NYSE:SLB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $9.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.54 billion. SLB had a net margin of 9.45% and a return on equity of 17.45%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.92 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that SLB Limited will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLB Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 11th will be paid a $0.295 dividend. This is a positive change from SLB’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 11th. SLB’s dividend payout ratio is 49.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on SLB. Loop Capital set a $48.00 target price on shares of SLB in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased 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. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of SLB in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of SLB in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on SLB from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Three investment 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 given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, SLB has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.96.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director La Chevardiere Patrick De sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.29, for a total value of $201,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 19,525 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $981,912.25. This trade represents a 17.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Stephane Biguet sold 61,017 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.70, for a total transaction of $3,032,544.90. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 155,548 shares in the company, valued at $7,730,735.60. This trade represents a 28.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 156,902 shares of company stock worth $7,796,666. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

SLB 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.