Renaissance Technologies LLC Sells 569,539 Shares of Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX)

Renaissance Technologies LLC cut its stake in shares of Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX) by 75.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 184,974 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 569,539 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in Chevron were worth $26,792,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CVX. IMG Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Chevron during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Chevron during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Fairway Wealth LLC grew its position in Chevron by 75.9% during the 4th quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 204 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Chevron in the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Chevron in the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. 72.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Chevron Stock Performance

Shares of CVX stock opened at $135.49 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Chevron Co. has a 52 week low of $132.04 and a 52 week high of $168.96. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $155.34 and a 200-day moving average of $153.81. The company has a market cap of $238.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.93.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The oil and gas company reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the company earned $3.45 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Chevron Co. will post 10.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Chevron Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $1.71 per share. This is an increase from Chevron’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Chevron’s dividend payout ratio is 70.37%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Chevron news, VP Jeff B. Gustavson sold 9,325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.50, for a total value of $1,422,062.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $161,192.50. This trade represents a 89.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on CVX. Scotiabank downgraded Chevron from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $160.00 to $143.00 in a research note on Friday. Raymond James decreased their price target on shares of Chevron from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. 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 report on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $175.00 price objective on shares of Chevron in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on Chevron from $194.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $172.20.

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.