Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,875,164 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 47,942 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.16% of Chevron worth $416,439,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. 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 valued at $23,431,429,000 after purchasing an additional 874,962 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Chevron by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,108,760 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,581,137,000 after acquiring an additional 3,203,899 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Chevron by 3.6% during 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 acquiring an additional 672,244 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised 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 acquiring an additional 573,218 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in 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 valued at $1,147,359,000 after acquiring an additional 138,496 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Jeff B. Gustavson sold 9,325 shares of Chevron stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $161,192.50. The trade was a 89.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Chevron Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of Chevron stock opened at $155.32 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $151.86 and its 200-day moving average is $150.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $279.12 billion, a PE ratio of 15.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Chevron Co. has a 12-month low of $135.37 and a 12-month high of $167.11.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The oil and gas company reported $2.06 earnings per share (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 anticipate that Chevron Co. will post 10.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Chevron Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.71 per share. This is an increase from Chevron’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.40%. Chevron’s payout ratio is currently 67.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on CVX. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Chevron from $184.00 to $173.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Citigroup raised Chevron from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $145.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Raymond James cut their target price on Chevron from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Chevron from $188.00 to $184.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, DZ Bank raised 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued 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 $174.13.

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.