Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Raises Holdings in Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX - Free Report) by 21.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,336 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after buying an additional 5,364 shares during the quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Chevron were worth $4,394,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Chevron by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,972 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $438,000 after buying an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Rational Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Chevron in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Chevron during the 3rd quarter worth $2,455,000. Solitude Financial Services increased its stake in shares of Chevron by 42.0% during the 3rd quarter. Solitude Financial Services now owns 20,165 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $2,970,000 after purchasing an additional 5,968 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Chevron by 2.9% in the third quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC now owns 22,583 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $3,326,000 after acquiring an additional 631 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.42% of the company's stock.

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 directly owns 1,057 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $161,192.50. This trade represents a 89.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CVX. Barclays cut 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. Citigroup upgraded Chevron from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $145.00 to $185.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Chevron from $195.00 to $194.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Chevron from $184.00 to $173.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price target on Chevron from $164.00 to $160.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $174.13.

Chevron Price Performance

Shares of CVX traded down $1.07 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $150.93. The stock had a trading volume of 9,287,527 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,447,005. The stock has a market capitalization of $265.73 billion, a PE ratio of 15.53, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.07. Chevron Co. has a 12 month low of $135.37 and a 12 month high of $167.11. The company's 50-day moving average is $153.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $151.61.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX - Get Free Report) last issued 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 net margin of 8.71% and a return on equity of 11.44%. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.45 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Chevron Co. will post 10.79 EPS for the current year.

Chevron Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.71 per share. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.53%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from Chevron's previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. Chevron's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 70.37%.

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.