Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC Sells 1,330 Shares of Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX)

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX) by 4.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 27,079 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 1,330 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Chevron were worth $3,922,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CVX. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Chevron during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,017,750,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Chevron in the 4th quarter valued at $1,036,302,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Chevron by 17.3% during the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 2,432,756 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its stake in shares of Chevron by 27.7% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 8,806,050 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,323,549,000 after acquiring an additional 1,910,262 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors lifted its position in shares of Chevron by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 14,079,656 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,039,288,000 after purchasing an additional 1,440,808 shares in the last quarter. 72.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Jeff B. Gustavson sold 9,325 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,057 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Chevron Stock Performance

NYSE CVX opened at $133.75 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $153.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $153.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $235.48 billion, a PE ratio of 13.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.80. Chevron Co. has a 1 year low of $132.04 and a 1 year high of $168.96.

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 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.45 EPS. Analysts predict that Chevron Co. will post 10.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chevron Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $1.71 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from Chevron’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.11%. Chevron’s payout ratio is presently 70.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on CVX. BNP Paribas lowered shares of Chevron to a “cautious” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Chevron from $184.00 to $173.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Scotiabank cut Chevron from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $160.00 to $143.00 in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Chevron from $174.00 to $171.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Raymond James decreased their price target on shares of Chevron from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $169.50.

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.