Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Decreases Stake in SLB Limited $SLB

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR lessened its holdings in shares of SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 19.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 179,623 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 43,361 shares during the period. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR’s holdings in SLB were worth $6,174,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of SLB. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its stake in SLB by 1,937.4% in the 3rd quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 996,948 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $34,265,000 after purchasing an additional 948,015 shares in the last quarter. Daner Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of SLB in the third quarter valued at approximately $237,000. Financial Consulate Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of SLB in the third quarter valued at approximately $108,000. Romano Brothers AND Company lifted its position in SLB by 19.0% during the third quarter. Romano Brothers AND Company now owns 82,349 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,816,000 after buying an additional 13,176 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. acquired a new position in SLB during the third quarter worth $136,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

SLB Stock Performance

Shares of SLB opened at $40.19 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $37.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $35.54. 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 company has a market capitalization of $60.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.52 and a beta of 0.73. SLB Limited has a 52-week low of $31.11 and a 52-week high of $44.66.

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

SLB Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 3rd will be given a $0.285 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 3rd. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. SLB’s payout ratio is 44.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on SLB. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on SLB from $47.60 to $52.30 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of SLB from $44.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $57.00 price target on shares of SLB in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of SLB in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of SLB from $47.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $52.42.

Insider Activity at SLB

In other SLB news, Director Peter John Coleman sold 5,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 $668,795.22. This represents a 22.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Stephane Biguet sold 38,447 shares of SLB stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.75, for a total value of $1,412,927.25. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 175,690 shares in the company, valued at $6,456,607.50. This trade represents a 17.95% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 103,947 shares of company stock valued at $3,871,337 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

SLB Company 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.