Smithfield Trust Co Cuts Position in Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX)

Smithfield Trust Co trimmed its holdings in shares of Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 18,419 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 102 shares during the period. Smithfield Trust Co’s holdings in Chevron were worth $2,663,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp raised its stake 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 valued at $23,431,429,000 after buying an additional 874,962 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Chevron by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,855,566 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,613,960,000 after acquiring an additional 746,806 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Chevron by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 19,892,848 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,881,280,000 after acquiring an additional 410,460 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Chevron by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 17,200,188 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,610,645,000 after purchasing an additional 573,218 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Chevron by 17.3% in 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 purchasing an additional 2,432,756 shares in the last quarter. 72.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Chevron Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CVX opened at $151.99 on Wednesday. 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 capitalization of $267.59 billion, a PE ratio of 15.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.11. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $153.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $151.61. Chevron Co. has a twelve month low of $135.37 and a twelve month high of $167.11.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The oil and gas company reported $2.06 earnings per share 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 in the prior year, the company earned $3.45 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Chevron Co. will post 10.79 EPS for the current year.

Chevron Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.71 per share. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.50%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from Chevron’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. Chevron’s payout ratio is currently 70.37%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Chevron news, VP Jeff B. Gustavson sold 9,325 shares of Chevron 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 1,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $161,192.50. The trade was a 89.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. DZ Bank raised shares of Chevron from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $175.00 price objective on shares of Chevron in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial cut their target price on Chevron from $164.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Citigroup upgraded Chevron from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $145.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Chevron from $188.00 to $184.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.