Franklin Resources Inc. Has $2.50 Billion Stock Holdings in Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX)

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,280,105 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 79,917 shares during the quarter. Chevron accounts for 0.7% of Franklin Resources Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.96% of Chevron worth $2,502,850,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new position in Chevron during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. IMG Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Chevron during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Chevron during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Chevron in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Chevron by 75.9% in the 4th quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 204 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.42% of the company’s stock.

Chevron Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE CVX opened at $166.06 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $292.37 billion, a PE ratio of 17.08, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.08. Chevron Co. has a 12 month low of $135.37 and a 12 month high of $168.96. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $157.10 and a 200-day moving average of $153.60. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The oil and gas company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm posted $3.45 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Chevron Co. will post 10.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chevron Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $1.71 per share. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from Chevron’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. Chevron’s payout ratio is 70.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Chevron

In other news, VP Jeff B. Gustavson sold 9,325 shares of Chevron 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,057 shares in the company, valued at approximately $161,192.50. The trade was a 89.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CVX. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Chevron from $174.00 to $171.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Raymond James cut their price objective on shares of Chevron from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Chevron from $164.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Chevron from $188.00 to $184.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group reduced 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.13.

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.