Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. Has $8.01 Million Stock Holdings in Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX)

Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. lessened its holdings in Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 55,315 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Chevron makes up approximately 2.4% of Meridian Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Chevron were worth $8,012,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Chevron in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,017,750,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Chevron in the fourth quarter worth $1,036,302,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Chevron by 17.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 16,496,687 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,389,380,000 after purchasing an additional 2,432,756 shares in the last quarter. Amundi raised its stake in Chevron by 27.7% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 8,806,050 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,323,549,000 after buying an additional 1,910,262 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Chevron by 0.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 159,105,244 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $23,431,429,000 after acquiring an additional 874,962 shares in the last quarter. 72.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Chevron Stock Performance

Chevron stock opened at $166.06 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock has a market cap of $292.37 billion, a PE ratio of 17.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.08. Chevron Co. has a 12-month low of $135.37 and a 12-month high of $168.96. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $157.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $153.60.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last announced its quarterly 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 last year, the company earned $3.45 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Chevron Co. will post 10.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chevron Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $1.71 per share. This is a boost from Chevron’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.12%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Chevron’s payout ratio is 70.37%.

Insider Activity

In other Chevron news, VP Jeff B. Gustavson sold 9,325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.50, for a total transaction of $1,422,062.50. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $161,192.50. The trade was a 89.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CVX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Chevron from $164.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Chevron from $195.00 to $194.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $175.00 price target on shares of Chevron in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James cut their price objective on shares of Chevron from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Chevron from $174.00 to $171.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.13.

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.