American Century Companies Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in SLB Limited $SLB

American Century Companies Inc. lessened its holdings in SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 29.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,500,459 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 1,919,734 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.33% of SLB worth $152,116,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Atticus Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in SLB during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in SLB in the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its position in SLB by 55.3% in the 2nd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 983 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of SLB by 51.4% during the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 1,004 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 341 shares during the period. Finally, N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of SLB in the 1st quarter worth approximately $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

SLB Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SLB opened at $35.82 on Tuesday. SLB Limited has a one year low of $31.11 and a one year high of $44.97. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $35.05 and a 200 day moving average of $34.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.39. The firm has a market cap of $53.51 billion, a PE ratio of 13.83, a PEG ratio of 10.19 and a beta of 0.97.

SLB (NYSE:SLB) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $8.93 billion for 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%.The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.89 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that SLB Limited will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLB Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.285 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 3rd. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. SLB’s payout ratio is presently 44.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $44.00 target price on shares of SLB in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Melius Research initiated coverage on shares of SLB in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $82.00 price objective for the company. Redburn Partners set a $48.00 target price on shares of SLB in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on SLB from $44.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of SLB from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.28.

Insider Activity at SLB

In related news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.69, for a total value of $2,261,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 159,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,006,692.99. This represents a 27.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Stephane Biguet sold 38,447 shares of SLB stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.75, for a total transaction of $1,412,927.25. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 175,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,456,607.50. This represents a 17.95% 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 138,174 shares of company stock worth $5,107,677. 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.