Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX) Shares Bought by Principal Securities Inc.

Principal Securities Inc. increased its stake in Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX) by 11.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 51,630 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 5,202 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in Chevron were worth $7,478,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new stake in Chevron during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Rational Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Chevron in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Chevron in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Chevron during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Chevron during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. 72.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on CVX shares. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Chevron from $164.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Raymond James lowered their target price on Chevron from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup upgraded Chevron from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $145.00 to $185.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Chevron from $188.00 to $184.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $175.00 target price on shares of Chevron in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the 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.

Chevron Price Performance

Shares of Chevron stock opened at $155.32 on Friday. Chevron Co. has a 1-year low of $135.37 and a 1-year high of $167.11. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $151.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $150.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $279.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.98, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.11.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The oil and gas company reported $2.06 earnings per share (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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.45 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Chevron Co. will post 10.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Chevron Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $1.71 dividend. This is an increase from Chevron’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.40%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Chevron’s payout ratio is currently 67.08%.

Insider Transactions at Chevron

In related news, VP Jeff B. Gustavson sold 9,325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,057 shares in the company, valued at $161,192.50. This represents a 89.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.