AlphaQuest LLC Acquires Shares of 15,441 SLB Limited $SLB

AlphaQuest LLC bought a new position in shares of SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 15,441 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $531,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in SLB in the second quarter worth $25,000. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in SLB in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Corsicana & Co. bought a new position in SLB in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of SLB by 51.4% in the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 1,004 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 341 shares during the period. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank boosted its stake in shares of SLB by 47.4% during the 3rd quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank now owns 1,390 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 447 shares in the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

SLB Stock Performance

Shares of SLB stock opened at $49.54 on Friday. SLB Limited has a 1 year low of $31.11 and a 1 year high of $51.67. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $42.59 and its 200 day moving average is $37.56. The stock has a market cap of $74.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.90, a PEG ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

SLB (NYSE:SLB) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $9.75 billion during 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.92 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that SLB Limited will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLB Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 11th will be given a $0.295 dividend. This is a boost from SLB’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 11th. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. SLB’s payout ratio is currently 48.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling at SLB

In related news, CAO Howard Guild sold 13,268 shares of SLB stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.70, for a total value of $659,419.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 22,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,113,627.90. This trade represents a 37.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.70, for a total value of $2,982,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 140,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,987,919.40. This trade represents a 29.91% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 260,849 shares of company stock worth $11,668,003. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SLB has been the subject of a number of research reports. Freedom Capital downgraded shares of SLB from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. TD Cowen increased their target price on SLB from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Argus upgraded SLB to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Rothschild & Co Redburn began coverage on SLB in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $48.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on SLB from $47.60 to $52.30 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.17.

SLB Company 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.