Merit Financial Group LLC Acquires 29,557 Shares of Chevron Corporation $CVX

Key Points

• Merit Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Chevron by 30.7%, acquiring an additional 29,557 shares, bringing its total holdings to 125,966 shares valued at approximately $18 million.
• A significant quantity of Chevron stock was traded by insiders, including Director John B. Hess, who sold 375,000 shares for $59.36 million, indicating a 21.09% decrease in his holdings.
• Chevron's current consensus target price is $165.05, with analysts issuing ratings that include 11 buys, 9 holds, and 3 sells.

Merit Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX - Free Report) by 30.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 125,966 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 29,557 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Chevron were worth $18,037,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC grew its stake in Chevron by 652,139.5% in the 2nd quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 83,714,936 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $13,214,757,000 after purchasing an additional 83,702,101 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Chevron by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 33,430,030 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $5,592,263,000 after acquiring an additional 1,574,464 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Chevron by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 15,855,325 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $2,652,437,000 after acquiring an additional 827,851 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Chevron by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 12,281,983 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $2,054,513,000 after acquiring an additional 40,758 shares during the period. Finally, GQG Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Chevron during the 1st quarter worth $1,466,751,000. Institutional investors own 72.42% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Chevron news, Director John B. Hess sold 375,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.30, for a total value of $59,362,500.00. Following the sale, the director owned 1,403,045 shares of the company's stock, valued at $222,102,023.50. This trade represents a 21.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Alana K. Knowles sold 3,978 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total value of $636,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 1,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $188,960. The trade was a 77.11% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CVX has been the subject of several research reports. Mizuho cut their price target on Chevron from $192.00 to $191.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 15th. UBS Group increased their price target on Chevron from $186.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Chevron in a research note on Monday, August 4th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $174.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Chevron in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Chevron in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $165.05.

Chevron Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE CVX opened at $153.59 on Friday. Chevron Corporation has a 52 week low of $132.04 and a 52 week high of $168.96. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $156.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $148.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company has a market cap of $265.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.84.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The oil and gas company reported $1.77 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.19. Chevron had a return on equity of 9.90% and a net margin of 7.02%.The business had revenue of $44.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.55 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Chevron Corporation will post 10.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chevron Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th were paid a $1.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.5%. Chevron's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 88.03%.

Chevron 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.

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