Howard Capital Management Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in SLB Limited $SLB

Howard Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 11.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,877 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 906 shares during the quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in SLB were worth $303,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Command Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in SLB by 300.0% in the 1st quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 636 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 477 shares in the last quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of SLB in the second quarter worth about $29,000. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of SLB during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its position in shares of SLB by 55.3% during the 2nd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 983 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of SLB during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 81.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

SLB Trading Down 1.4%

SLB stock opened at $36.32 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. SLB Limited has a 52 week low of $31.11 and a 52 week high of $44.97. The company has a market capitalization of $54.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.19 and a beta of 0.97. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $34.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.60.

SLB (NYSE:SLB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $8.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.99 billion. SLB had a return on equity of 18.97% and a net margin of 10.34%.SLB’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.89 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that SLB Limited will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

SLB Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.285 per share. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 3rd. SLB’s payout ratio is presently 44.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on SLB. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded SLB from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 20th. Melius began coverage on SLB in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $82.00 price target on the stock. Melius Research started coverage on SLB in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $82.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of SLB in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $44.00 target price on shares of SLB in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, SLB currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.69.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other SLB news, insider Dianne B. Ralston sold 39,727 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.08, for a total transaction of $1,433,350.16. Following the transaction, the insider owned 202,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,295,412.08. The trade was a 16.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

SLB Profile

Schlumberger Limited engages in the provision of technology for the energy industry worldwide. The company operates through four divisions: Digital & Integration, Reservoir Performance, Well Construction, and Production Systems. The company provides field development and hydrocarbon production, carbon management, and integration of adjacent energy systems; reservoir interpretation and data processing services for exploration data; and well construction and production improvement services and products.