Violich Capital Management Inc. Sells 15,700 Shares of SLB Limited $SLB

Violich Capital Management Inc. decreased its stake in SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 57.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,450 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 15,700 shares during the period. Violich Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in SLB were worth $439,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Steph & Co. grew its holdings in shares of SLB by 97.5% in the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 798 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in shares of SLB in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of SLB in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of SLB in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Strengthening Families & Communities LLC bought a new position in shares of SLB in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

SLB Trading Down 3.9%

SLB stock opened at $53.04 on Friday. SLB Limited has a 52 week low of $31.64 and a 52 week high of $57.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.16, a PEG ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.72. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $50.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $44.92.

SLB (NYSE:SLB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.01. SLB had a return on equity of 15.54% and a net margin of 9.26%.The business had revenue of $8.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.76 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.72 earnings per share. SLB’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that SLB Limited will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current year.

SLB Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on SLB shares. Argus upgraded SLB to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $61.00 price objective on shares of SLB in a report on Monday, April 27th. Freedom Capital cut SLB from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley set a $57.00 price objective on SLB in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $64.00 price objective on shares of SLB in a report on Monday, April 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, SLB presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.74.

Insider Transactions at SLB

In other SLB news, Director La Chevardiere Patrick De sold 2,000 shares of the firm’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 in the company, valued at $921,056.49. This trade represents a 10.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Steve Matthew Gassen sold 53,379 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.18, for a total transaction of $2,998,832.22. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 47,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,664,111.78. This trade represents a 52.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

SLB Company 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.