Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. Reduces Stock Position in Chevron Corporation $CVX

Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. reduced its holdings in shares of Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) by 9.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 254,176 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 27,163 shares during the quarter. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.’s holdings in Chevron were worth $38,738,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. D.B. Root & Company LLC lifted its stake in shares of Chevron by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC now owns 5,552 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $846,000 after buying an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Chevron by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 930 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $142,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. MMA Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Chevron by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. MMA Asset Management LLC now owns 1,820 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $277,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. EWA LLC increased its holdings in Chevron by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. EWA LLC now owns 2,182 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $333,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, Barlow Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Chevron by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Barlow Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,363 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $869,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. 72.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider R. Hewitt Pate sold 58,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.65, for a total value of $10,941,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 8,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,614,466.70. The trade was a 87.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew Benjamin Walz sold 11,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.58, for a total transaction of $2,187,528.00. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 799,699 shares of company stock valued at $151,259,517 in the last three months. 0.56% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Chevron

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on CVX shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Chevron from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 31st. Argus set a $203.00 target price on shares of Chevron in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on shares of Chevron from $216.00 to $204.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 11th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of Chevron in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Chevron from $210.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $204.13.

Chevron Stock Performance

Chevron stock opened at $197.38 on Wednesday. Chevron Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $133.77 and a fifty-two week high of $214.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market cap of $393.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.51. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $193.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $173.98.

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

Chevron Announces Dividend

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

Chevron Company Profile

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.