Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Buys 34,863 Shares of SLB Limited $SLB

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its stake in SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 59.0% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 93,920 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 34,863 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings in SLB were worth $4,827,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of SLB by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 186,455,878 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $7,156,177,000 after buying an additional 1,080,999 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of SLB by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 84,417,217 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,263,998,000 after acquiring an additional 799,218 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of SLB by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 54,006,438 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,072,844,000 after acquiring an additional 1,458,650 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its position in SLB by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 37,095,243 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,423,716,000 after acquiring an additional 482,533 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in SLB by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 33,840,883 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,292,993,000 after acquiring an additional 510,747 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

SLB News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting SLB this week:

• Positive Sentiment: SLB beat second-quarter expectations, reporting $0.55 in earnings per share versus the $0.51 consensus estimate and $8.97 billion in revenue versus $8.67 billion expected. Revenue increased 5% year over year, supporting the view that international oilfield-services activity remains resilient. The results also increased attention on energy ETFs with significant SLB exposure, including IEZ, OIH and XLE. Here’s How SLB’s Q2 Earnings Impact Energy ETFs
• Positive Sentiment: BMO Capital Markets raised its SLB price target to $63, while Morgan Stanley said the stock is expected to rise. Goldman Sachs reiterated a Buy rating with a $62 target, citing an international recovery, data-center expansion opportunities and potential for above-peer earnings and returns. These targets imply meaningful upside from recent trading levels. BMO Capital Markets Increases SLB Price Target to $63.00 SLB Stock Price Expected to Rise, Morgan Stanley Analyst Says
• Positive Sentiment: Longer-term valuation analysis described SLB as reasonably priced, with potential upside based on discounted cash-flow estimates. Offshore scale, digital services, production gains from ChampionX and data-center infrastructure initiatives are cited as growth drivers. SLB Stock Looks Reasonable Despite Its Five Year Run
• Neutral Sentiment: SLB has attracted unusually high investor and Zacks.com user interest following its earnings report, but the attention itself does not establish a clear change in fundamentals or valuation. SLB Is Attracting Investor Attention
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research downgraded SLB from “hold” to “strong sell,” likely weighing on sentiment and helping explain why the stock has decreased despite the earnings beat and bullish broker targets. Zacks Downgrades SLB
• Negative Sentiment: Near-term risks include Middle East disruptions, uncertainty around oil prices, elevated net debt and the possibility that earnings growth will take longer to materialize. SLB’s $0.55 quarterly EPS also remained below the $0.74 reported in the prior-year period. SLB Growth Outlook Hinges on Offshore, Digital and Production Gains

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Steve Matthew Gassen sold 53,379 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 47,421 shares in the company, valued at $2,664,111.78. This trade represents a 52.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director La Chevardiere Patrick De sold 2,000 shares of SLB stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.33, for a total value 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

SLB Price Performance

NYSE SLB opened at $49.07 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $50.75 and its 200 day moving average is $50.74. SLB Limited has a fifty-two week low of $31.64 and a fifty-two week high of $58.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.44. The company has a market capitalization of $73.36 billion, a PE ratio of 23.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.72.

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

SLB Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 2nd will be paid a $0.295 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 2nd. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. SLB’s payout ratio is presently 57.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler raised their target price on SLB from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of SLB from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of SLB from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Monday. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $66.00 price objective on shares of SLB in a report on Monday. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of SLB from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.35.

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.