Chevron Corporation $CVX Stock Sold by Payden & Rygel

Key Points

• Payden & Rygel cut its Chevron stake by 20.5% in the third quarter, selling 26,300 shares and retaining 102,200 shares valued at approximately $20.9 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 72.42% of Chevron.
• Chevron shares recently traded near their 52-week high at $235.62, while the company reported quarterly earnings of $5.28 per share and revenue of $65.24 billion, exceeding analyst expectations.
• Insiders have been selling shares: insiders sold 1.2 million shares worth about $235.6 million over the past 90 days. Despite this activity, analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average price target of $213.96.

Payden & Rygel trimmed its stake in shares of Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX - Free Report) by 20.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 102,200 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 26,300 shares during the period. Chevron comprises about 1.6% of Payden & Rygel's holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Payden & Rygel's holdings in Chevron were worth $20,870,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp increased its stake in Chevron by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 159,136,768 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $28,016,651,000 after purchasing an additional 5,998,852 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Chevron during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,663,729,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in Chevron by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 27,630,227 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $5,716,694,000 after purchasing an additional 1,334,976 shares in the last quarter. Amundi raised its position in shares of Chevron by 3.0% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 12,185,436 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $2,521,166,000 after buying an additional 349,416 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Chevron during the second quarter worth $2,378,114,000. 72.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Chevron Trading Up 1.8%

NYSE CVX opened at $235.62 on Friday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $213.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $193.07. Chevron Corporation has a 52 week low of $146.49 and a 52 week high of $236.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The stock has a market cap of $465.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.59, a PEG ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 0.53.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 30th. The oil and gas company reported $5.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.87 by $0.41. Chevron had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 11.09%. The business had revenue of $65.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $61.82 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.85 EPS. The business's revenue was up 36.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Chevron Corporation will post 18.20 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Andrew Walz sold 16,800 shares of Chevron stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.06, for a total transaction of $3,377,808.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 14 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,814.84. The trade was a 99.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John B. Hess sold 710,665 shares of Chevron stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.10, for a total value of $137,940,076.50. Following the sale, the director directly owned 363,711 shares in the company, valued at approximately $70,596,305.10. The trade was a 66.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,195,682 shares of company stock worth $235,619,780. 0.56% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Chevron

Here are the key news stories impacting Chevron this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly earnings exceeded expectations. Chevron reported adjusted earnings of $5.28 per share, above the roughly $4.87-$4.89 analyst consensus, while revenue reached $65.24 billion versus estimates of $61.82 billion. Adjusted earnings of approximately $10.4 billion nearly tripled from a year earlier. Chevron tops Q3 expectations on higher downstream profit
• Positive Sentiment: Refining was the standout business. Downstream earnings climbed to nearly $4.9 billion from about $1.1 billion a year earlier as refinery outages and conflicts involving Iran and Russia reduced fuel supplies and lifted margins. Chevron beats earnings expectations as refining profits soar
• Positive Sentiment: Cash generation and the balance sheet improved. Chevron generated roughly $12 billion of free cash flow and $16 billion of operating cash flow, while reducing net debt by about $7.8 billion. This supports dividends, potential buybacks and future investment. Chevron's profit nearly tripled from a year ago
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst sentiment has become more constructive. One valuation estimate increased from $227.71 to $232.50, with higher oil-price assumptions, strong refining results and possible Venezuela-related upside supporting revised targets. However, the stock’s rally has reduced its dividend yield for new investors. Chevron stock fair value edges higher
• Negative Sentiment: Investors face risks beyond the strong quarter. Chevron warned that downtime could reduce fourth-quarter production by approximately 225,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. In addition, refining profits may normalize if geopolitical disruptions ease, while the stock’s elevated valuation and lingering questions about buybacks could limit further upside. Chevron says downtime could hit Q4 output

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on CVX shares. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on Chevron from $204.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price objective on shares of Chevron from $230.00 to $224.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 17th. William Blair started coverage on shares of Chevron in a research note on Wednesday. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Chevron from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Chevron from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Chevron presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $213.96.

About Chevron

Chevron Corporation NYSE: CVX is an integrated energy company engaged in the exploration, development, production, transportation and sale of crude oil and natural gas. Its upstream operations include oil and gas exploration and production, while its downstream business includes refining crude oil, marketing fuels and manufacturing and distributing lubricants, petrochemicals and fuel additives.

The company also invests in lower-carbon businesses and technologies, including renewable fuels, carbon capture and storage, hydrogen and other opportunities intended to reduce emissions from its operations and energy products.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CVX? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.