Carlson Capital L.P. Acquires New Position in SLB Limited $SLB

Carlson Capital L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 42,822 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,201,000. SLB makes up 0.7% of Carlson Capital L.P.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Evergreen Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of SLB during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of SLB during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in SLB in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Costello Asset Management INC lifted its position in SLB by 93.3% in the 1st quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 580 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in SLB in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 81.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at SLB

In other SLB news, 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 sale, the director directly owned 16,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $921,056.49. This represents a 10.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

SLB Stock Up 1.4%

SLB stock opened at $49.58 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $73.59 billion, a PE ratio of 23.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.44. SLB Limited has a one year low of $31.64 and a one year high of $58.82. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $50.43 and a 200 day moving average of $50.76.

SLB (NYSE:SLB) last posted its earnings results on Saturday, July 25th. The oil and gas company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $8.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.67 billion. SLB had a return on equity of 14.05% and a net margin of 8.53%.SLB’s revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.74 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that SLB Limited will post 2.49 EPS for the current year.

SLB Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 2nd will be issued a $0.295 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 2nd. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. SLB’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SLB has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on SLB from $59.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. UBS Group lowered their price target on SLB from $69.00 to $66.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $66.00 price objective on shares of SLB in a research report on Monday. Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of SLB from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $66.00 price target on shares of SLB in a research note on Sunday, July 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, SLB currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.35.

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.