Empirical Asset Management LLC Increases Stake in Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX)

Empirical Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX) by 374.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 126,940 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 100,164 shares during the quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Chevron were worth $18,386,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rational Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Chevron during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Chevron during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Chevron during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Chevron in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC grew its holdings in Chevron by 66.7% during the 2nd quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC now owns 250 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 72.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on CVX shares. UBS Group upped their price objective on Chevron from $194.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Chevron from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Chevron from $168.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Chevron from $171.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Chevron from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $175.27.

Chevron Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CVX opened at $161.54 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $153.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $151.06. The company has a market cap of $290.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.75, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.07. Chevron Co. has a one year low of $135.37 and a one year high of $167.11.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The oil and gas company reported $2.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.47 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $50.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $48.86 billion. Chevron had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 13.15%. Chevron’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.05 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Chevron Co. will post 10.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chevron Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.04%. Chevron’s payout ratio is currently 71.65%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Michael K. Wirth sold 164,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.13, for a total value of $26,357,398.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 4,280 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $685,356.40. This represents a 97.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.