Optas LLC Buys Shares of 2,213 Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX)

Optas LLC purchased a new stake in Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 2,213 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $321,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp boosted its position in Chevron by 0.6% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Chevron by 11.5% in 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 grew its position in Chevron by 3.6% in 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 buying an additional 672,244 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 573,218 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Chevron by 1.8% during 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 worth $1,147,359,000 after buying an additional 138,496 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.42% of the company’s stock.

Chevron Price Performance

CVX opened at $153.14 on Wednesday. Chevron Co. has a 12-month low of $135.37 and a 12-month high of $167.11. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $275.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.75, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $152.97 and a 200-day moving average of $150.93.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The oil and gas company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 last year, the business earned $3.45 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Chevron Co. will post 11.45 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $1.71 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from Chevron’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.47%. Chevron’s payout ratio is presently 67.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Chevron

In other news, CEO Michael K. Wirth sold 164,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 $685,356.40. The trade was a 97.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on CVX shares. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Chevron from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays upped their price objective on Chevron from $168.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Chevron from $184.00 to $173.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Chevron from $195.00 to $194.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, Raymond James lowered their price objective on shares of Chevron from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.33.

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.