First Financial Bankshares Inc Sells 604,145 Shares of SLB Limited $SLB

First Financial Bankshares Inc reduced its stake in SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 98.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,363 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 604,145 shares during the quarter. First Financial Bankshares Inc’s holdings in SLB were worth $425,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Compound Planning Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of SLB by 21.3% during the 3rd quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 10,755 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $370,000 after buying an additional 1,891 shares during the period. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in SLB by 83.1% during the third quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 597,920 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $20,551,000 after acquiring an additional 271,420 shares during the period. Clark Estates Inc. NY bought a new stake in SLB during the third quarter valued at about $2,234,000. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC grew its position in shares of SLB by 7.7% in the third quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 14,476 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $498,000 after purchasing an additional 1,040 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goodman Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of SLB by 2.2% in the third quarter. Goodman Financial Corp now owns 346,926 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $11,924,000 after purchasing an additional 7,332 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

SLB Price Performance

NYSE:SLB opened at $51.87 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $45.90 and a 200-day moving average of $39.15. The company has a market capitalization of $77.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.89, a PEG ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 0.73. SLB Limited has a 52 week low of $31.11 and a 52 week high of $52.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.33.

SLB (NYSE:SLB) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $9.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.54 billion. SLB had a net margin of 9.45% and a return on equity of 17.45%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.92 earnings per share. As a group, equities 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 11th will be given a dividend of $0.295 per share. This is a boost from SLB’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 11th. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. SLB’s dividend payout ratio is 49.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on SLB shares. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of SLB in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of SLB from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of SLB from $43.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Freedom Capital downgraded shares of SLB from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of SLB from $51.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $52.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director La Chevardiere Patrick De sold 4,000 shares of the business’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 sale, the director owned 19,525 shares in the company, valued at approximately $981,912.25. The trade was a 17.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.70, for a total transaction of $2,982,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 140,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,987,919.40. The trade was a 29.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 156,902 shares of company stock worth $7,796,666 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

About SLB

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.