1,146,543 Shares in SLB Limited $SLB Purchased by Ruffer LLP

Ruffer LLP acquired a new position in SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,146,543 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,073,000. SLB comprises about 2.0% of Ruffer LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SLB. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in SLB by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,281 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $318,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the period. apricus wealth LLC boosted its stake in SLB by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. apricus wealth LLC now owns 84,740 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,252,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in SLB by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 3,277 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $126,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in SLB by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,165 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $315,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the period. Finally, Daymark Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in SLB by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,380 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $360,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

SLB Stock Performance

Shares of SLB opened at $52.83 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $79.37 billion, a PE ratio of 22.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $50.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $43.35. SLB Limited has a 12-month low of $31.64 and a 12-month high of $54.80.

SLB (NYSE:SLB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $9.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.54 billion. SLB had a return on equity of 17.45% and a net margin of 9.45%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.92 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that SLB Limited will post 2.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLB Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 11th were issued a dividend of $0.295 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 11th. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. This is a positive change from SLB’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. SLB’s payout ratio is 49.79%.

Insider Activity at SLB

In related news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.70, for a total transaction of $2,982,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 140,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,987,919.40. This trade represents a 29.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Howard Guild sold 13,268 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.70, for a total value of $659,419.60. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 22,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,113,627.90. This represents a 37.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 156,902 shares of company stock worth $7,796,666 in the last quarter. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on SLB from $51.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 1st. Argus upgraded SLB to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on SLB from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on SLB from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on SLB from $53.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $54.27.

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.