Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Sells 257,698 Shares of SLB Limited $SLB

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC reduced its position in shares of SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 20.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 973,671 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 257,698 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC’s holdings in SLB were worth $37,369,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Steph & Co. lifted its holdings in SLB by 97.5% during the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 798 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in SLB during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in SLB during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. bought a new position in SLB during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its holdings in SLB by 37.0% during the 4th quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 841 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on SLB. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of SLB from $59.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of SLB from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $61.00 target price on shares of SLB in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of SLB from $56.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of SLB from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Steve Matthew Gassen sold 53,379 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.18, for a total value of $2,998,832.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 47,421 shares in the company, valued at $2,664,111.78. This represents a 52.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director La Chevardiere Patrick De sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.33, for a total transaction of $108,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 16,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $921,056.49. This trade represents a 10.55% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

SLB Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE SLB opened at $54.79 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $81.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.70. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $54.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.34. SLB Limited has a 52-week low of $31.64 and a 52-week high of $58.82.

SLB (NYSE:SLB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $8.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.76 billion. SLB had a net margin of 9.26% and a return on equity of 15.54%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.72 earnings per share. Analysts expect that SLB Limited will post 2.62 EPS for the current year.

SLB Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.295 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 3rd. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. SLB’s payout ratio is currently 51.53%.

SLB Profile

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.