Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 47,942 Shares of Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,875,164 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 47,942 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Chevron were worth $416,439,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Total Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Chevron by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Total Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,595 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $376,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Americana Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Chevron by 179.4% during the 4th quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 253,221 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $36,677,000 after acquiring an additional 162,577 shares in the last quarter. Kerusso Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Chevron during the 4th quarter worth about $1,576,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in shares of Chevron during the 4th quarter worth about $111,000. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Chevron by 29.1% during the 4th quarter. Pathway Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,958 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $284,000 after purchasing an additional 441 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on CVX. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Chevron in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group cut their price objective on Chevron from $195.00 to $194.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays cut their price objective on Chevron from $174.00 to $171.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. DZ Bank raised Chevron from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Chevron from $188.00 to $184.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Chevron has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.13.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Jeff B. Gustavson sold 9,325 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,057 shares in the company, valued at $161,192.50. This represents a 89.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Chevron Trading Down 0.4 %

CVX stock opened at $155.32 on Monday. Chevron Co. has a 1-year low of $135.37 and a 1-year high of $167.11. The firm has a market cap of $279.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.11. The business’s 50 day moving average is $151.86 and its 200-day moving average is $150.80. 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 (NYSE:CVX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The oil and gas company reported $2.06 earnings per share 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 in the prior year, the business earned $3.45 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Chevron Co. will post 10.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chevron Increases Dividend

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

Chevron Company Profile

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.