Bright Rock Capital Management LLC Cuts Stake in SLB Limited $SLB

Bright Rock Capital Management LLC reduced its position in SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 53.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 130,000 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 150,000 shares during the quarter. Bright Rock Capital Management LLC’s holdings in SLB were worth $4,989,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of SLB by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 80,830 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,732,000 after acquiring an additional 40,415 shares in the last quarter. Americana Partners LLC boosted its stake in SLB by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 248,057 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $8,526,000 after purchasing an additional 22,706 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its stake in shares of SLB by 13.8% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 210,056 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $7,220,000 after buying an additional 25,417 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in SLB by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,157,885 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $72,354,000 after acquiring an additional 100,918 shares during the period. Finally, Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its holdings in shares of SLB by 1,937.4% during the third quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 996,948 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $34,265,000 after purchasing an additional 948,015 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

SLB Stock Down 3.8%

SLB stock opened at $51.47 on Tuesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $77.34 billion, a PE ratio of 21.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.68. SLB Limited has a fifty-two week low of $31.11 and a fifty-two week high of $54.80. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $49.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.48.

SLB (NYSE:SLB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.04. SLB had a net margin of 9.45% and a return on equity of 17.45%. The company had revenue of $9.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.92 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that SLB Limited will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

SLB Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on SLB from $52.30 to $56.10 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of SLB from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of SLB from $43.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on SLB from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of SLB in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Three research 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 assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, SLB currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.16.

Insider Activity at SLB

In related news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 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 $2,982,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 140,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,987,919.40. This trade represents a 29.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Dianne B. Ralston sold 18,617 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 224,097 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,092,801.50. This represents a 7.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 156,902 shares of company stock worth $7,796,666 over the last quarter. 0.16% of the stock is currently 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.