Private Management Group Inc. Trims Position in Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX)

Private Management Group Inc. decreased its stake in Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,764 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 160 shares during the quarter. Private Management Group Inc.’s holdings in Chevron were worth $835,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Chevron by 19,404.1% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,901,390 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $7,218,280,000 after acquiring an additional 4,876,260 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of Chevron by 15,750.1% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 3,901,345 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $574,551,000 after acquiring an additional 3,876,731 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Chevron by 949.6% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,819,963 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $562,566,000 after acquiring an additional 3,456,008 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Chevron by 11.5% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,108,760 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,581,137,000 after buying an additional 3,203,899 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its holdings in Chevron by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 159,105,244 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $23,431,429,000 after buying an additional 874,962 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.42% of the company’s stock.

Chevron Price Performance

Chevron stock opened at $151.86 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $152.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $150.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $272.90 billion, a PE ratio of 15.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Chevron Co. has a 12-month low of $135.37 and a 12-month high of $167.11.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The oil and gas company reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.42 by ($0.36). Chevron had a return on equity of 11.44% and a net margin of 8.71%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.45 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Chevron Co. will post 11.45 EPS for the current year.

Chevron Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $1.71 dividend. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from Chevron’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. Chevron’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.08%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on CVX shares. Raymond James reduced their price objective on Chevron from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of Chevron from $180.00 to $163.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Chevron from $174.00 to $171.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Chevron from $195.00 to $194.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Chevron in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $168.00 price objective for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Michael K. Wirth sold 164,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.13, for a total value of $26,357,398.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 4,280 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $685,356.40. This trade represents a 97.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Chevron Company Profile

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.