First Merchants Corp Sells 1,001 Shares of Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX)

First Merchants Corp cut its position in Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 49,022 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 1,001 shares during the period. First Merchants Corp’s holdings in Chevron were worth $7,100,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. 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. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 worth $4,581,137,000 after purchasing an additional 3,203,899 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Chevron by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 19,482,388 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,869,171,000 after purchasing an additional 672,244 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Chevron by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 17,200,188 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,610,645,000 after purchasing an additional 573,218 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Chevron by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 7,790,856 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,147,359,000 after purchasing an additional 138,496 shares during the period. 72.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Chevron

In other news, VP Jeff B. Gustavson sold 9,325 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.50, for a total value of $1,422,062.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $161,192.50. This represents a 89.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Chevron from $184.00 to $173.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Chevron from $188.00 to $184.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Chevron from $174.00 to $171.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. DZ Bank raised Chevron from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Raymond James reduced their price objective on Chevron from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.13.

Chevron Price Performance

Shares of CVX opened at $156.00 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $280.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.05, a PEG ratio of 1.39 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. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $151.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $150.84. Chevron Co. has a 1-year low of $135.37 and a 1-year high of $167.11.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last issued its 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 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Chevron Co. will post 10.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chevron Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $1.71 dividend. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.38%. This is a boost from Chevron’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Chevron’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.08%.

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.