Merit Financial Group LLC Buys 13,443 Shares of Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX)

Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX - Free Report) by 19.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 81,697 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after buying an additional 13,443 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Chevron were worth $11,833,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rational Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Chevron in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Chevron during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Chevron in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Chevron during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC increased its holdings in Chevron by 66.7% during the second quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC now owns 250 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 72.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Chevron Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CVX traded up $2.16 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $161.54. The stock had a trading volume of 9,233,657 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,835,055. The company has a market cap of $290.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.12. The business's 50 day moving average price is $153.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $151.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Chevron Co. has a 1 year low of $135.37 and a 1 year high of $167.11.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The oil and gas company reported $2.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.47 by $0.04. Chevron had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 13.15%. The firm had revenue of $50.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.86 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.05 earnings per share. Chevron's revenue for the quarter was down 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Chevron Co. will post 10.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chevron Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. Chevron's payout ratio is 71.65%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Michael K. Wirth sold 164,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.13, for a total transaction of $26,357,398.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,280 shares in the company, valued at approximately $685,356.40. This represents a 97.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CVX. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Chevron from $171.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. DZ Bank raised Chevron from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $170.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Chevron from $160.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Chevron from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Chevron from $194.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Chevron presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $175.27.

About Chevron

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.