South Dakota Investment Council Cuts Stock Position in Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX)

South Dakota Investment Council lessened its holdings in Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX) by 23.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,194 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 6,242 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Chevron were worth $2,925,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Chevron in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Rational Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Chevron during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Chevron during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Chevron during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Chevron during the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.42% of the company’s stock.

Chevron Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE CVX opened at $156.92 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The company has a market cap of $282.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.14, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.11. Chevron Co. has a 1 year low of $135.37 and a 1 year high of $167.11. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $151.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $151.11.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The oil and gas company reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.45 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Chevron Co. will post 10.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Chevron Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $1.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.36%. This is an increase from Chevron’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. Chevron’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.37%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $161,192.50. The trade was a 89.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CVX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James cut their price objective on Chevron from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. DZ Bank upgraded 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. 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. 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $175.00 price target on shares of Chevron in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.13.

Chevron 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.