Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 1,562,856 Shares of Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX)

Vanguard Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 156,967,725 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 1,562,856 shares during the period. Chevron comprises approximately 0.4% of Vanguard Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 29th largest position. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 0.09% of Chevron worth $22,735,205,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CVX. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new stake in Chevron during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. IMG Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Chevron in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Chevron in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Fairway Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Chevron by 75.9% in the 4th quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 204 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Chevron in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Institutional investors own 72.42% of the company’s stock.

Chevron Stock Performance

NYSE CVX opened at $164.37 on Friday. Chevron Co. has a fifty-two week low of $135.37 and a fifty-two week high of $167.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $289.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.91, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.08. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $156.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $152.57.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The oil and gas company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.42 by ($0.36). Chevron had a net margin of 8.71% and a return on equity of 11.44%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.45 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Chevron Co. will post 10.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Chevron Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $1.71 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from Chevron’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.16%. Chevron’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 70.37%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Jeff B. Gustavson sold 9,325 shares of Chevron stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.50, for a total value of $1,422,062.50. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,057 shares in the company, valued at approximately $161,192.50. The trade was a 89.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays lowered their price objective on Chevron from $174.00 to $171.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $175.00 target price on shares of Chevron in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup upgraded Chevron from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $145.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Chevron from $184.00 to $173.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on Chevron from $195.00 to $194.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.13.

Chevron 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.