Griffin Asset Management Inc. Lowers Stake in SLB Limited $SLB

Griffin Asset Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 15.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 58,550 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 10,800 shares during the period. Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in SLB were worth $2,247,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. ABN Amro Investment Solutions boosted its position in shares of SLB by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions now owns 274,167 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $10,523,000 after purchasing an additional 14,541 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in shares of SLB by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 28,992 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,113,000 after purchasing an additional 661 shares during the period. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its position in shares of SLB by 13.2% during the 4th quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 20,021 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $768,000 after purchasing an additional 2,338 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in SLB by 60.3% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,975 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 743 shares during the period. Finally, Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of SLB by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. now owns 53,879 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,068,000 after acquiring an additional 5,397 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Steve Matthew Gassen sold 53,379 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.18, for a total value of $2,998,832.22. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 47,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,664,111.78. The trade was a 52.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director La Chevardiere Patrick De sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 trade represents a 10.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of SLB to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of SLB from $55.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of SLB from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of SLB from $59.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of SLB from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Three investment 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, SLB presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.74.

SLB Price Performance

SLB stock opened at $57.22 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $85.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $52.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.21. SLB Limited has a 12-month low of $31.64 and a 12-month high of $57.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

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

SLB Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.295 per share. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 3rd. SLB’s payout ratio is 51.53%.

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.