Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX) Shares Sold by Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. lowered its holdings in Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX) by 6.3% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 514,411 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 34,678 shares during the quarter. Chevron makes up approximately 1.6% of Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Chevron were worth $80,464,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. American Capital Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Chevron by 403.2% in the first quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC now owns 156 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Chevron during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Chevron during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Cooksen Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Chevron in the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC raised its stake in Chevron by 264.9% in the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 281 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. 72.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CVX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. HSBC increased their price objective on Chevron from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut Chevron from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $183.00 to $167.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on Chevron from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Chevron from $203.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Chevron in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $183.82.

Chevron Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CVX traded up $0.83 on Wednesday, hitting $144.98. The company had a trading volume of 3,891,299 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,886,544. Chevron Co. has a 52-week low of $139.62 and a 52-week high of $171.70. The business has a 50 day moving average of $154.39 and a 200 day moving average of $156.08. The company has a market cap of $267.19 billion, a PE ratio of 13.21, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The oil and gas company reported $2.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.93 by ($0.38). Chevron had a net margin of 9.31% and a return on equity of 13.70%. The business had revenue of $51.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.68 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.08 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Chevron Co. will post 11.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chevron Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 19th will be paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 19th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.50%. Chevron’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.98%.

Insider Transactions at Chevron

In related news, VP Jeff B. Gustavson sold 3,750 shares of Chevron stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.23, for a total value of $600,862.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 477 shares in the company, valued at $76,429.71. 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.

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.