Lafayette Investments Inc. Buys 300 Shares of Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX)

Lafayette Investments Inc. raised its holdings in Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 13,798 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Lafayette Investments Inc.’s holdings in Chevron were worth $2,058,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CVX. Picton Mahoney Asset Management acquired a new position in Chevron in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Valley Forge Investment Consultants Inc. ADV grew its holdings in Chevron by 80.0% during the third quarter. Valley Forge Investment Consultants Inc. ADV now owns 180 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Chevron in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Worth Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Chevron in the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Legacy Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Chevron during the 3rd quarter valued at $43,000. Institutional investors own 72.42% of the company’s stock.

Chevron Stock Performance

NYSE:CVX traded up $2.93 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $160.50. 2,088,170 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,442,681. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $155.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $151.90. Chevron Co. has a one year low of $139.62 and a one year high of $172.38. The firm has a market cap of $298.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The oil and gas company reported $3.45 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.19 by $0.26. Chevron had a return on equity of 15.24% and a net margin of 10.63%. The company had revenue of $47.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $50.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.09 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Chevron Co. will post 13.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chevron Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Investors of record on Friday, February 16th were paid a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.06%. This is a boost from Chevron’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.51. Chevron’s dividend payout ratio is 57.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CVX. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Chevron in a report on Monday, April 1st. UBS Group raised their price target on Chevron from $185.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Chevron from $168.00 to $156.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Chevron from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $184.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Chevron from $185.00 to $198.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Chevron has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $184.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Alana K. Knowles sold 2,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.09, for a total value of $448,252.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,184.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Chevron

Chevron Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in the integrated energy and chemicals operations in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Upstream and Downstream. The Upstream segment is involved in the exploration, development, production, and transportation of crude oil and natural gas; processing, liquefaction, transportation, and regasification of liquefied natural gas; transportation of crude oil through pipelines; transportation, storage, and marketing of natural gas; and carbon capture and storage, as well as a gas-to-liquids plant.