Iridian Asset Management LLC CT Buys New Holdings in SLB Limited $SLB

Iridian Asset Management LLC CT purchased a new position in SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 60,916 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,094,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of SLB by 14.2% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 150,317,566 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $5,080,734,000 after purchasing an additional 18,672,021 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in SLB during the second quarter worth $618,697,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of SLB by 30.4% in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,233,749 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $683,901,000 after buying an additional 4,719,852 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of SLB by 80.7% during the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 6,788,978 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $229,466,000 after buying an additional 3,031,906 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of SLB by 346.3% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,876,526 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $133,236,000 after acquiring an additional 3,007,911 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.69, for a total transaction of $2,261,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 159,371 shares in the company, valued at $6,006,692.99. This trade represents a 27.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Peter John Coleman sold 5,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.82, for a total value of $197,010.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 18,671 shares in the company, valued at approximately $668,795.22. The trade was a 22.75% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 103,947 shares of company stock worth $3,871,337. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

SLB Stock Performance

SLB stock opened at $45.20 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The firm has a market cap of $67.52 billion, a PE ratio of 17.45 and a beta of 0.72. The business has a 50 day moving average of $38.05 and a 200-day moving average of $35.87. SLB Limited has a 12-month low of $31.11 and a 12-month high of $45.24.

SLB (NYSE:SLB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.02. SLB had a return on equity of 18.97% and a net margin of 10.34%.The business had revenue of $8.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.89 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that SLB Limited will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

SLB Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 3rd were given a dividend of $0.285 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 3rd. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. SLB’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on SLB. Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of SLB from $42.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Redburn Partners set a $48.00 price objective on SLB in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Rothschild & Co Redburn started coverage on SLB in a report on Monday, November 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $48.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI set a $54.00 target price on SLB and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on SLB from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, SLB presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $53.42.

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.