First Business Financial Services Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Chevron Corporation $CVX

First Business Financial Services Inc. reduced its position in shares of Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) by 51.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,731 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 2,918 shares during the quarter. First Business Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Chevron were worth $416,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew its stake in shares of Chevron by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 427,741 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $65,192,000 after purchasing an additional 6,139 shares during the period. Jag Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Chevron by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC now owns 1,494 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $228,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its stake in shares of Chevron by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 28,829 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,394,000 after purchasing an additional 1,663 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of Chevron by 24.6% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,296 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $198,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the period. Finally, Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. bought a new stake in shares of Chevron during the 4th quarter valued at about $12,826,000. 72.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Chevron news, CEO Michael K. Wirth sold 272,624 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.35, for a total value of $51,621,354.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 31,266 shares in the company, valued at $5,920,217.10. This represents a 89.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew Benjamin Walz sold 11,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.58, for a total value of $2,187,528.00. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 799,699 shares of company stock worth $151,259,517 over the last ninety days. 0.56% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Chevron Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:CVX opened at $197.38 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $193.41 and a 200 day moving average of $173.98. The company has a market cap of $393.11 billion, a PE ratio of 34.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Chevron Corporation has a 12-month low of $133.77 and a 12-month high of $214.71.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 1st. The oil and gas company reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.41. Chevron had a return on equity of 6.90% and a net margin of 5.79%.The company had revenue of $47.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $51.86 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.18 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Chevron Corporation will post 15.43 EPS for the current year.

Chevron Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th will be paid a $1.78 dividend. This represents a $7.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 19th. Chevron’s dividend payout ratio is presently 123.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CVX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Tudor Pickering upgraded Chevron from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Barclays boosted their price target on Chevron from $180.00 to $192.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of Chevron in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Melius Research upgraded Chevron from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Chevron from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $176.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Chevron presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $204.13.

More Chevron News

Here are the key news stories impacting Chevron this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street commentary has turned more upbeat on Chevron, with Zacks noting rising earnings estimate revisions and arguing that CVX could keep moving higher in the near term. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Chevron was highlighted as a long-term blue-chip idea, reinforcing the view that the company remains attractive for dividend and energy investors. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Chevron also drew unusually heavy call-option buying, suggesting traders are positioning for more upside in the near term. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Chevron agreed to sell a stake in its Asia-Pacific refining business to Japan’s Eneos for $2.2 billion, a move that can help streamline operations and raise cash. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles framed Chevron as a stock to watch or a “hold” at current levels, which does not point to a major fundamental surprise but helps explain continued investor focus. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage around Berkshire Hathaway trimming its Chevron stake created headlines, but the broader message was that Berkshire still appears committed to the company despite the sale. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Buffett-related reports that Berkshire Hathaway sold the largest chunk of Chevron in its Q1 stock trimming campaign may create some pressure, since investors often read Berkshire’s moves as a cautionary signal. Article Title

About Chevron

Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX) is an American multinational energy company engaged in virtually all aspects of the oil and gas industry. As an integrated energy firm, Chevron’s core activities include upstream oil and natural gas exploration and production, midstream transportation and storage, downstream refining and marketing of fuels and lubricants, and petrochemical manufacturing through joint ventures and subsidiaries. The company markets fuels under brands such as Chevron, Texaco and Caltex and supplies a range of products and services to retail customers, industrial users and commercial fleets worldwide.

Chevron traces its corporate lineage to the early petroleum companies that eventually became Standard Oil of California and has evolved through significant mergers and restructurings, including the acquisitions of Gulf Oil and Texaco.