SLB Limited $SLB Shares Purchased by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 346.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,876,526 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,007,911 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.26% of SLB worth $133,236,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in SLB by 14.2% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 150,317,566 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $5,080,734,000 after acquiring an additional 18,672,021 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of SLB during the 2nd quarter valued at about $618,697,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of SLB by 30.4% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,233,749 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $683,901,000 after purchasing an additional 4,719,852 shares during the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of SLB by 211.1% in the first quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 5,992,997 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $250,507,000 after buying an additional 4,066,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in SLB by 80.7% during the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 6,788,978 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $229,466,000 after purchasing an additional 3,031,906 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

SLB Stock Down 3.2%

Shares of NYSE:SLB opened at $37.64 on Wednesday. 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 business’s 50 day simple moving average is $36.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $35.21. SLB Limited has a 52-week low of $31.11 and a 52-week high of $44.66. The firm has a market cap of $56.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.53 and a beta of 0.73.

SLB (NYSE:SLB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $8.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.99 billion. SLB had a net margin of 10.34% and a return on equity of 18.97%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.89 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that SLB Limited will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLB Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 3rd. SLB’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on SLB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of SLB from $44.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Citigroup boosted their target price on SLB from $47.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Melius Research initiated coverage on SLB in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $82.00 price objective on the stock. Rothschild Redb raised shares of SLB to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn assumed coverage on SLB in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $48.00 price objective on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, SLB currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $52.32.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other SLB news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 159,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,006,692.99. The trade was a 27.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Peter John Coleman sold 5,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.82, for a total value of $197,010.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 18,671 shares in the company, valued at approximately $668,795.22. This represents a 22.75% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 103,947 shares of company stock worth $3,871,337. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

About SLB

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.