Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC Sells 8,298 Shares of Chevron Corporation $CVX

Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC reduced its position in Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) by 4.1% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 195,089 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 8,298 shares during the quarter. Chevron comprises about 4.5% of Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC’s holdings in Chevron were worth $40,364,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CVX. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Chevron during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Phillip James Consulting Co. acquired a new position in Chevron during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Core Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Chevron during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Karpus Management Inc. bought a new stake in Chevron during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Basso Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Chevron in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. 72.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Chevron

Here are the key news stories impacting Chevron this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Rising Middle East tensions are pushing crude higher, which can improve Chevron’s upstream profits and make the stock look more attractive as a geopolitical hedge. With Iran Tensions Heating Up Again, Chevron Stock Looks Enticing
• Positive Sentiment: Bullish commentary from Bank of America and other analysts suggests Chevron is well positioned to benefit if Iran-related supply disruptions keep oil prices elevated. CVX Stock Has A New Bull Case
• Positive Sentiment: Chevron announced a five-year gas supply deal with Australia’s Alinta Energy, adding a stable long-term sales stream and reinforcing its gas business. Chevron Australia signs five-year gas supply agreement with Alinta Energy
• Positive Sentiment: Chevron also expanded its technology/licensing efforts and its Microsoft power partnership, which could support long-term growth beyond oil and gas pricing. Can Chevron’s Microsoft Partnership Power the Next Leg of Growth?
• Neutral Sentiment: UBS reiterated a Buy rating, which may help sentiment but does not by itself change Chevron’s fundamentals. UBS Keeps Their Buy Rating on Chevron (CVX)
• Negative Sentiment: New U.S. Russia sanctions proposals could tighten global energy trade flows and add policy uncertainty, even if they may also support oil prices. Bipartisan Senators Reach Agreement With Trump Administration to Advance New Russia Sanctions Bill

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup lifted their price target on Chevron from $210.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $216.00 price objective on shares of Chevron in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $216.00 target price on shares of Chevron in a research note on Friday. Zacks Research cut shares of Chevron from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of Chevron from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $215.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $206.83.

Insider Transactions at Chevron

In related news, Director John B. Hess sold 380,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.20, for a total value of $73,416,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 278,045 shares in the company, valued at $53,718,294. This trade represents a 57.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Chevron Price Performance

Shares of CVX traded up $2.24 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $176.29. The stock had a trading volume of 5,984,338 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,284,713. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.09. Chevron Corporation has a 12 month low of $146.49 and a 12 month high of $214.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $351.10 billion, a PE ratio of 30.55, a PEG ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 0.50. The company’s 50-day moving average is $181.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $181.29.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 1st. The oil and gas company reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $47.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $51.86 billion. Chevron had a return on equity of 6.90% and a net margin of 5.79%.Chevron’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.18 EPS. Research analysts expect that Chevron Corporation will post 15.28 EPS for the current year.

Chevron Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th were paid a $1.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 19th. This represents a $7.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Chevron’s dividend payout ratio is currently 123.40%.

Chevron 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.