Welch & Forbes LLC Sells 6,673 Shares of Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX)

Welch & Forbes LLC lessened its holdings in Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 412,855 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 6,673 shares during the quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Chevron were worth $59,798,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CVX. Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Chevron by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,972 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $438,000 after buying an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. raised its holdings in Chevron by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. now owns 10,655 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,569,000 after purchasing an additional 1,113 shares during the last quarter. Maia Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Chevron by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 3,577 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $538,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Blake Schutter Theil Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Chevron during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $902,000. Finally, Financial Enhancement Group LLC raised its holdings in Chevron by 13.8% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Enhancement Group LLC now owns 1,533 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $235,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.42% of the company’s stock.

Chevron Stock Performance

NYSE CVX opened at $152.94 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $153.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $151.62. Chevron Co. has a 12-month low of $135.37 and a 12-month high of $167.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a market cap of $269.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.73, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.08.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 8.71% and a return on equity of 11.44%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.45 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Chevron Co. will post 10.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $1.71 per share. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.47%. This is an increase from Chevron’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Chevron’s payout ratio is currently 70.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on CVX shares. Citigroup upgraded shares of Chevron from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $145.00 to $185.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Chevron from $164.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Raymond James reduced their price objective on shares of Chevron from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of 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 reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Chevron in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.