Aberdeen Group plc Has $55.26 Million Holdings in SLB Limited $SLB

Aberdeen Group plc lessened its holdings in shares of SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 3.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,630,239 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 57,670 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc owned 0.11% of SLB worth $55,257,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Howard Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in SLB by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,165 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $315,000 after buying an additional 288 shares during the period. Fielder Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of SLB by 2.5% in the third quarter. Fielder Capital Group LLC now owns 12,137 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $417,000 after acquiring an additional 293 shares during the period. Hedges Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of SLB by 0.9% during the third quarter. Hedges Asset Management LLC now owns 35,000 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,203,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Gables Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in SLB by 31.6% in the 3rd quarter. Gables Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,250 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC grew its position in SLB by 2.2% during the second quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 14,382 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $486,000 after buying an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

SLB Price Performance

SLB opened at $50.37 on Monday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $44.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $38.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.72. SLB Limited has a 52-week low of $31.11 and a 52-week high of $52.40.

SLB (NYSE:SLB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.04. SLB had a net margin of 9.45% and a return on equity of 17.45%. The firm had revenue of $9.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.92 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that SLB Limited will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

SLB Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 11th will be paid a $0.295 dividend. This is an increase from SLB’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 11th. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. SLB’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SLB has been the subject of a number of research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein upped 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. Barclays upped their price target on SLB from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of SLB from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on SLB from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Freedom Capital downgraded shares of SLB from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen 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 company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Howard Guild sold 13,268 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.70, for a total value of $659,419.60. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 22,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,113,627.90. This trade represents a 37.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Dianne B. Ralston sold 18,617 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.50, for a total transaction of $921,541.50. Following the sale, the insider owned 224,097 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,092,801.50. This trade represents a 7.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 162,402 shares of company stock valued at $7,993,676 over the last ninety days. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.