Freedom Investment Management Inc. Buys 167 Shares of Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX)

Freedom Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,256 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Chevron were worth $1,341,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of CVX. Allianz SE acquired a new stake in shares of Chevron in the 4th quarter valued at $9,369,000. Nicholas Company Inc. boosted its stake in Chevron by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Nicholas Company Inc. now owns 80,025 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $11,591,000 after buying an additional 3,280 shares in the last quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC grew its position in Chevron by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 179,815 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $26,044,000 after acquiring an additional 2,755 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in Chevron by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 1,205,747 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $174,817,000 after acquiring an additional 52,307 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dale Q Rice Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of Chevron in the fourth quarter worth about $594,000. 72.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Chevron Trading Up 1.7 %

NYSE:CVX opened at $137.68 on Friday. Chevron Co. has a 52 week low of $132.04 and a 52 week high of $168.96. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $153.54 and its 200-day moving average is $153.42. The firm has a market cap of $242.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.93. 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 (NYSE:CVX) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The oil and gas company reported $2.06 EPS 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 period in the prior year, the business posted $3.45 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Chevron Co. will post 10.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Chevron Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $1.71 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.97%. This is a positive change from Chevron’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. Chevron’s dividend payout ratio is currently 70.37%.

Insider Transactions at Chevron

In related news, VP Jeff B. Gustavson sold 9,325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.50, for a total transaction 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 represents a 89.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on CVX shares. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Chevron from $174.00 to $171.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Chevron to a “cautious” rating in a report on Tuesday. Scotiabank downgraded Chevron from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $160.00 to $143.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Chevron from $194.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Raymond James cut their price target on Chevron from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Chevron currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $169.50.

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.