Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Increases Stock Position in SLB Limited $SLB

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 346.3% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,876,526 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 3,007,911 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in SLB were worth $133,236,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in SLB by 14.2% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 150,317,566 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $5,080,734,000 after buying an additional 18,672,021 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in SLB during the second quarter worth about $618,697,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings 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 period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in SLB by 211.1% during 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 purchasing an additional 4,066,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in SLB by 80.7% in the 2nd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 6,788,978 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $229,466,000 after buying an additional 3,031,906 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at SLB

In other news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.69, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 27.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Peter John Coleman sold 5,500 shares of SLB stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.82, for a total transaction of $197,010.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 18,671 shares in the company, valued at $668,795.22. This trade represents a 22.75% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 103,947 shares of company stock valued at $3,871,337. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on SLB shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of SLB in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Melius initiated coverage on SLB in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $82.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price objective on SLB from $47.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of SLB from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn began coverage on SLB in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $48.00 price target on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, SLB currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.32.

SLB Trading Down 3.2%

NYSE:SLB opened at $37.64 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $36.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $35.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.53 and a beta of 0.73. SLB Limited has a 12-month low of $31.11 and a 12-month high of $44.66.

SLB (NYSE:SLB) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.02. SLB had a return on equity of 18.97% and a net margin of 10.34%.The firm had revenue of $8.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.89 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that SLB Limited will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

SLB Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.285 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 3rd. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. SLB’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.02%.

SLB Profile

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.