Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Chevron Corporation $CVX

Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) by 12.8% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 30,312 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 4,448 shares during the period. Chevron makes up about 2.3% of Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc.’s holdings in Chevron were worth $6,272,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Core Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Chevron during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Phillip James Consulting Co. acquired a new position in Chevron during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Basso Capital Management L.P. bought a new position in Chevron in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Karpus Management Inc. bought a new position in Chevron in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Quattro Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Chevron during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Institutional investors own 72.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider R. Hewitt Pate sold 40,200 shares of Chevron stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.30, for a total transaction of $8,574,660.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 8,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,842,485.40. The trade was a 82.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John B. Hess sold 380,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.20, for a total transaction of $73,416,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 278,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,718,294. This trade represents a 57.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 615,200 shares of company stock worth $118,022,760 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings cut Chevron from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on shares of Chevron from $216.00 to $204.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Chevron from $204.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Chevron from $179.00 to $242.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Chevron from $168.00 to $187.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.70.

Chevron News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Chevron this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Chevron’s 20-year power deal with Microsoft for a large natural-gas-powered data center project is being viewed as a potentially significant new growth platform, opening a long-duration revenue opportunity tied to AI infrastructure. Chevron and Microsoft Partner on Landmark Texas AI Power Project
• Positive Sentiment: Texas Pacific Land’s agreement to provide land and water support for Chevron’s large-scale power project suggests the initiative is moving forward and could strengthen investor confidence in Chevron’s expansion into data-center power. Texas Pacific Land Partners with Chevron on Data Center Project
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst coverage continues to focus on Chevron’s position versus Shell and other energy peers, keeping attention on the company’s relative valuation and growth profile. Analysts Offer Insights on Energy Companies: Chevron (CVX) and Shell (SHEL)
• Negative Sentiment: Crude oil weakness is pressuring the broader energy group, which can weigh on Chevron’s near-term earnings outlook and sentiment toward the stock. Peabody Energy and Crescent Energy Shares Are Falling, What You Need To Know
• Negative Sentiment: News that President Trump said Chevron is among firms being probed over gasoline-price spikes adds regulatory risk and could raise investor concerns about possible investigations or political pressure. Trump says Exxon, Chevron among firms probed as part of surge in gas prices

Chevron Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CVX opened at $171.73 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Chevron Corporation has a 12 month low of $142.40 and a 12 month high of $214.71. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $185.68 and a 200-day moving average of $179.68. The company has a market capitalization of $342.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.76, a P/E/G ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.48.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The oil and gas company reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.41. Chevron had a return on equity of 6.90% and a net margin of 5.79%.The business had revenue of $47.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $51.86 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.18 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Chevron Corporation will post 15.88 EPS for the current year.

Chevron Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th were issued a $1.78 dividend. This represents a $7.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 19th. Chevron’s payout ratio is currently 123.40%.

Chevron Company Profile

Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX) is an American multinational energy company engaged in virtually all aspects of the oil and gas industry. As an integrated energy firm, Chevron’s core activities include upstream oil and natural gas exploration and production, midstream transportation and storage, downstream refining and marketing of fuels and lubricants, and petrochemical manufacturing through joint ventures and subsidiaries. The company markets fuels under brands such as Chevron, Texaco and Caltex and supplies a range of products and services to retail customers, industrial users and commercial fleets worldwide.

Chevron traces its corporate lineage to the early petroleum companies that eventually became Standard Oil of California and has evolved through significant mergers and restructurings, including the acquisitions of Gulf Oil and Texaco.