AQR Capital Management LLC Decreases Stake in Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX)

AQR Capital Management LLC reduced its holdings in Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX - Free Report) by 27.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 444,580 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 164,228 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC's holdings in Chevron were worth $64,335,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of CVX. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Chevron in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,017,750,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Chevron during the fourth quarter worth about $1,036,302,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Chevron by 17.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 16,496,687 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $2,389,380,000 after buying an additional 2,432,756 shares during the period. Amundi boosted its stake in shares of Chevron by 27.7% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 8,806,050 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,323,549,000 after purchasing an additional 1,910,262 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of Chevron by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 14,079,656 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $2,039,288,000 after acquiring an additional 1,440,808 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.42% of the company's stock.

Chevron Stock Performance

CVX traded up $2.27 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $138.53. 12,386,040 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,984,073. Chevron Co. has a 52 week low of $132.04 and a 52 week high of $168.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company's 50-day moving average is $149.76 and its 200 day moving average is $152.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $243.90 billion, a PE ratio of 14.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.93.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The oil and gas company reported $2.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.03. Chevron had a return on equity of 11.44% and a net margin of 8.71%. The business had revenue of $47.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $49.05 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.93 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Chevron Co. will post 10.79 EPS for the current year.

Chevron Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a dividend of $1.71 per share. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.94%. Chevron's payout ratio is 70.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Chevron

In other news, VP Jeff B. Gustavson sold 9,325 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.50, for a total value of $1,422,062.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,057 shares of the company's stock, valued at $161,192.50. This represents a 89.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CVX. Barclays cut Chevron from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $171.00 to $152.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Chevron from $184.00 to $173.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Raymond James lowered their price target on shares of Chevron from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Redburn Atlantic restated a "sell" rating and issued a $124.00 price objective (down previously from $156.00) on shares of Chevron in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $175.00 target price on shares of Chevron in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Chevron currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $165.27.

Chevron Company Profile

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.