Dana Investment Advisors Inc. Buys 271,420 Shares of SLB Limited $SLB

Dana Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 83.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 597,920 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 271,420 shares during the quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in SLB were worth $20,551,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of SLB by 21.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,611 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $253,000 after acquiring an additional 1,166 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC purchased a new position in SLB in the 4th quarter worth approximately $238,000. MQS Management LLC purchased a new position in SLB in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $341,000. New Hampshire Trust boosted its stake in SLB by 10.4% in the 2nd quarter. New Hampshire Trust now owns 7,901 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $267,000 after purchasing an additional 745 shares during the period. Finally, Resonant Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in SLB by 24.1% during the 2nd quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,043 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $240,000 after buying an additional 1,369 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Stephane Biguet sold 61,017 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.70, for a total value of $3,032,544.90. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 155,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,730,735.60. This represents a 28.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 value of $921,541.50. Following the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 162,402 shares of company stock valued at $7,993,676. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

SLB Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of SLB stock opened at $51.22 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $76.58 billion, a PE ratio of 21.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.72. SLB Limited has a 1 year low of $31.11 and a 1 year high of $52.40. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $45.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $39.02. 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 announced its earnings results on Friday, January 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.04. SLB had a return on equity of 17.45% and a net margin of 9.45%.The firm had revenue of $9.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.92 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that SLB Limited will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

SLB Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on SLB shares. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of SLB from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Argus upgraded SLB to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on SLB from $51.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, February 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on SLB from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of SLB in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Three investment 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 given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.38.

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.