Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. Reduces Position in Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX)

Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. reduced its position in shares of Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX) by 4.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 658,714 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 31,937 shares during the quarter. Chevron makes up about 2.1% of Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.’s holdings in Chevron were worth $97,008,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Chevron in the 1st quarter worth approximately $566,000. Kennedy Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Chevron in the first quarter worth $5,563,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Chevron by 13.5% in the first quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC now owns 880 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $139,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in Chevron by 35.2% during the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 158,849 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $25,042,000 after purchasing an additional 41,370 shares during the period. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. purchased a new position in Chevron during the 1st quarter valued at $2,613,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.42% of the company’s stock.

Chevron Stock Up 0.8 %

CVX traded up $1.27 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $161.63. 1,026,362 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,632,784. Chevron Co. has a 12-month low of $135.37 and a 12-month high of $167.11. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $151.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $152.51. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $290.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.62, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.09.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The oil and gas company reported $2.51 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 return on equity of 13.15% and a net margin of 8.44%. Chevron’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.05 EPS. Analysts predict that Chevron Co. will post 10.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chevron Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.03%. Chevron’s payout ratio is presently 71.65%.

Insider Activity at Chevron

In related news, CEO Michael K. Wirth sold 164,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of Chevron from $180.00 to $163.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Chevron from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Chevron from $196.00 to $169.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Barclays upped their price target on Chevron from $168.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Chevron from $192.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Chevron presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $175.56.

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.