Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX) Shares Bought by Essex Financial Services Inc.

Essex Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX) by 10.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 47,859 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,342 shares during the period. Chevron makes up 0.7% of Essex Financial Services Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Chevron were worth $7,139,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CVX. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH lifted its stake in Chevron by 4.8% during the third quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH now owns 61,737 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $10,410,000 after purchasing an additional 2,837 shares in the last quarter. Uncommon Cents Investing LLC lifted its stake in Chevron by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Uncommon Cents Investing LLC now owns 12,072 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,036,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Evanson Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Chevron by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. Evanson Asset Management LLC now owns 17,236 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,906,000 after acquiring an additional 1,299 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Trust Co grew its position in Chevron by 64.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Trust Co now owns 26,474 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,464,000 after acquiring an additional 10,396 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lineweaver Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Chevron by 82.5% during the third quarter. Lineweaver Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 12,073 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,036,000 after purchasing an additional 5,459 shares during the period. 72.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on CVX shares. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Chevron from $185.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Chevron in a research note on Monday, April 1st. HSBC lifted their target price on Chevron from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Barclays initiated coverage on Chevron in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $203.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price objective on Chevron from $170.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $185.35.

Chevron Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CVX traded down $2.01 on Wednesday, reaching $159.26. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,502,242 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,393,443. Chevron Co. has a 52-week low of $139.62 and a 52-week high of $171.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $295.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.69, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.12. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $156.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $151.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The oil and gas company reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.84 by $0.09. Chevron had a return on equity of 14.38% and a net margin of 10.21%. The firm had revenue of $48.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $48.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.55 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Chevron Co. will post 13.71 EPS for the current year.

Chevron Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. Chevron’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.98%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Alana K. Knowles sold 2,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.09, for a total transaction of $448,252.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,184.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.18% 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.