Legal & General Group Plc Grows Position in SLB Limited $SLB

Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 1.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,681,754 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 114,190 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.72% of SLB worth $327,243,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SLB. Atticus Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in SLB in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of SLB in the first quarter valued at $33,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its stake in shares of SLB by 55.3% during the 2nd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 983 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the period. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in SLB by 51.4% during the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 1,004 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 341 shares in the last quarter. Finally, N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in SLB during the 1st quarter worth about $40,000. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.69, for a total transaction of $2,261,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 159,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,006,692.99. This represents a 27.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Dianne B. Ralston sold 39,727 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.08, for a total transaction of $1,433,350.16. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 202,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,295,412.08. The trade was a 16.42% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 138,174 shares of company stock worth $5,107,677 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

SLB Stock Performance

SLB stock opened at $36.22 on Friday. SLB Limited has a fifty-two week low of $31.11 and a fifty-two week high of $44.97. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $35.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.84. The stock has a market cap of $54.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.19 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.39.

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

SLB Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 3rd will be given a $0.285 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 3rd. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. SLB’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SLB has been the topic of several analyst reports. Melius started coverage on SLB in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $82.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of SLB in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Piper Sandler set a $42.00 target price on shares of SLB and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of SLB from $44.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Zacks Research raised SLB from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, SLB presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.28.

About SLB

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.