Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. Increases Holdings in SLB Limited $SLB

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. increased its stake in SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 19.9% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,049,993 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 174,447 shares during the quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.’s holdings in SLB were worth $35,519,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Intrua Financial LLC grew its stake in SLB by 12.8% during the 2nd quarter. Intrua Financial LLC now owns 7,978 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $270,000 after purchasing an additional 907 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Counsel Inc grew its position in shares of SLB by 18.2% during the 2nd quarter. Capital Investment Counsel Inc now owns 17,956 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $607,000 after buying an additional 2,760 shares during the last quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions bought a new position in shares of SLB during the second quarter valued at approximately $11,988,000. Smithfield Trust Co increased its position in SLB by 32.8% in the second quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 8,615 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $291,000 after buying an additional 2,129 shares during the period. Finally, Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey increased its holdings in shares of SLB by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 207,156 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $7,002,000 after acquiring an additional 2,010 shares during the period. 81.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SLB Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SLB opened at $36.28 on Friday. SLB Limited has a 52 week low of $31.11 and a 52 week high of $44.97. The firm has a market cap of $54.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.01, a P/E/G ratio of 10.19 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.39. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $35.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.74.

SLB (NYSE:SLB) last issued 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 business had revenue of $8.93 billion during 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%. SLB’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.89 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that SLB Limited will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLB Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 3rd will be given a $0.285 dividend. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 3rd. SLB’s payout ratio is currently 44.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other SLB news, insider Dianne B. Ralston sold 39,727 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.08, for a total value of $1,433,350.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 202,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,295,412.08. This represents a 16.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.69, for a total value of $2,261,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 159,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,006,692.99. This trade represents a 27.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Melius Research began coverage on SLB in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $82.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of SLB from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 20th. Redburn Partners set a $48.00 price target on SLB in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Rothschild & Co Redburn started coverage on shares of SLB in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $48.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $42.00 target price on SLB and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.28.

About SLB

Schlumberger Limited engages in the provision of technology for the energy industry worldwide. The company operates through four divisions: Digital & Integration, Reservoir Performance, Well Construction, and Production Systems. The company provides field development and hydrocarbon production, carbon management, and integration of adjacent energy systems; reservoir interpretation and data processing services for exploration data; and well construction and production improvement services and products.