Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Takes $47.53 Million Position in SLB Limited $SLB

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new position in SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB) in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 924,850 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,528,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of SLB in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of SLB in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of SLB during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Steph & Co. lifted its stake 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 worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares during the period. Finally, Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. purchased a new position in shares of SLB in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. 81.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

SLB Trading Up 0.1%

SLB stock opened at $48.12 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $54.69 and a 200 day moving average of $49.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.70. SLB Limited has a 12-month low of $31.64 and a 12-month high of $58.82. 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 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 net margin of 9.26% and a return on equity of 15.54%. The company had revenue of $8.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.76 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.72 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that SLB Limited will post 2.62 earnings per share for the current 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 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 3rd. SLB’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at SLB

In related news, Director La Chevardiere Patrick De sold 2,000 shares of SLB 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 transaction, the director owned 16,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $921,056.49. The trade was a 10.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Steve Matthew Gassen sold 53,379 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was 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 owned 47,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,664,111.78. The trade was a 52.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on SLB shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of SLB from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 14th. TD Cowen lifted 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. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of SLB from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. UBS Group upped their price objective on SLB from $61.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, 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 report on Wednesday, March 4th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.83.

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.