Aberdeen Group plc Sells 57,670 Shares of SLB Limited $SLB

Aberdeen Group plc lowered its stake in SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,630,239 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 57,670 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc’s holdings in SLB were worth $55,257,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of SLB in the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of SLB during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Corsicana & Co. bought a new position in SLB in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC purchased a new stake in SLB in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC raised its holdings in SLB by 51.4% during the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 1,004 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 341 shares during the period. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at SLB

In related news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.70, for a total transaction of $2,982,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 140,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,987,919.40. This represents a 29.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Howard Guild sold 13,268 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.70, for a total transaction of $659,419.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 22,407 shares in the company, valued at $1,113,627.90. This trade represents a 37.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 162,402 shares of company stock valued at $7,993,676 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

SLB Stock Performance

SLB stock opened at $50.37 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $44.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a market cap of $75.33 billion, a PE ratio of 21.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.72. SLB Limited has a twelve month low of $31.11 and a twelve month high of $52.40.

SLB (NYSE:SLB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.04. SLB had a return on equity of 17.45% and a net margin of 9.45%.The company had revenue of $9.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.92 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that SLB Limited will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLB Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 11th. SLB’s dividend payout ratio is 49.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SLB has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $48.00 target price on SLB in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $56.00 price objective on shares of SLB in a research report on Monday, January 26th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of SLB in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets raised 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of SLB from $51.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 1st. 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.