Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Buys 16,304 Shares of Chevron Corporation $CVX

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its position in shares of Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) by 20.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 95,583 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,304 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Chevron were worth $14,843,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CVX. Quaker Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Chevron by 197.7% in the second quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 217 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 439 shares during the last quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Chevron in the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC grew its position in Chevron by 86.1% during the second quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 255 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the period. IMG Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in Chevron by 52.3% during the second quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 265 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marquette Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Chevron in the third quarter worth about $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.42% of the company’s stock.

Chevron Stock Performance

NYSE:CVX opened at $166.27 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $334.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.39, a PEG ratio of 10.29 and a beta of 0.70. The business has a 50 day moving average of $153.46 and a 200 day moving average of $154.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Chevron Corporation has a 1-year low of $132.04 and a 1-year high of $169.37.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The oil and gas company reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.14. Chevron had a net margin of 6.57% and a return on equity of 8.74%. The business had revenue of $48.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $46.99 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.48 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Chevron Corporation will post 10.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chevron Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 18th were given a dividend of $1.71 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 18th. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. Chevron’s dividend payout ratio is presently 96.20%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Michael K. Wirth sold 320,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.99, for a total transaction of $52,270,893.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 14,450 shares in the company, valued at $2,355,205.50. This represents a 95.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Alana K. Knowles sold 3,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.00, for a total value of $537,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 1,207 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $202,776. The trade was a 72.61% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 635,190 shares of company stock worth $100,254,408 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Chevron

Here are the key news stories impacting Chevron this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Chevron took a Final Investment Decision (FID) to expand the Leviathan offshore gas platform, adding wells and capacity to send more gas to Israel, Egypt and Jordan — a concrete growth project that should strengthen Chevron’s Eastern Mediterranean gas production and near?term cash flow. Reuters: Chevron takes final investment decision on Leviathan gas expansion
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple outlets report Chevron is likely to receive an expanded U.S. license to operate in Venezuela, which — if finalized and implemented — would enable higher production and exports from a large resource basin and materially improve future production upside. Reuters: Chevron expected to receive expanded Venezuela license
• Neutral Sentiment: Republican bill H.R.7084 (Defending American Property Abroad Act) would give the U.S. government additional tools related to ports and assets seized by foreign states — could be helpful for U.S. companies with expropriation risk, but timing and use of the law are uncertain. QuiverQuant: H.R.7084 summary
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor commentary and screening pieces are flagging Chevron as a dividend and income name worth buying on weakness — supportive to longer?term demand for the stock but less relevant to near?term price moves. Seeking Alpha: Buy the dip — dividend growth stocks
• Negative Sentiment: New legislation proposed (H.R.7094, No Aid for Russian Energy Act) would restrict U.S. persons and parent companies from supplying equipment/services to Russia’s energy sector — a potential regulatory headwind for U.S. majors with any exposure or plans tied to Russia. QuiverQuant: H.R.7094 summary
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: an executive sold 3,200 shares at roughly $168 — common but can be interpreted as a modest near?term negative signal to sentiment. SEC Form 4: insider sale
• Negative Sentiment: Oil prices slipped after an easing of Iran?related geopolitical risk, which pressures upstream margins and can temper short?term earnings for integrated majors including Chevron. Barron’s: Oil prices fall as Iran tensions ease

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on CVX. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Chevron from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Chevron from $204.00 to $206.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of Chevron from $170.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Chevron from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Chevron from $174.00 to $189.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $168.27.

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.