South Dakota Investment Council Sells 65,536 Shares of SLB Limited $SLB

South Dakota Investment Council lessened its holdings in SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 11.7% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 495,917 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 65,536 shares during the quarter. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in SLB were worth $25,485,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fearnley Asset Management AS purchased a new position in SLB in the fourth quarter valued at about $8,574,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of SLB in the 1st quarter valued at about $47,528,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of SLB by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,141,868 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $126,303,000 after buying an additional 128,660 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of SLB by 48.7% in the 4th quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 1,367,063 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $52,468,000 after buying an additional 447,667 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its position in shares of SLB by 65.0% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 205,796 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $7,898,000 after buying an additional 81,045 shares during the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

SLB Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of SLB stock opened at $49.07 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. SLB Limited has a 12-month low of $31.64 and a 12-month high of $58.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.70, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.72. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $50.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $50.74.

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

SLB Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at SLB

In other news, EVP Steve Matthew Gassen sold 53,379 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.18, for a total value of $2,998,832.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 47,421 shares in the company, valued at $2,664,111.78. This trade represents a 52.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director La Chevardiere Patrick De sold 2,000 shares of SLB stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.33, for a total value of $108,660.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 16,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $921,056.49. This trade represents a 10.55% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Key SLB News

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on SLB shares. Raymond James Financial decreased their target price on shares of SLB from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of SLB from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on SLB from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on SLB from $59.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on SLB in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $62.00 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.35.

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.