ProShare Advisors LLC Cuts Stake in Chevron Corporation $CVX

Key Points

• ProShare Advisors LLC trimmed its Chevron stake by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, leaving it with 1.53 million shares valued at about $233.4 million. Despite the cut, institutional ownership of Chevron remains high at 72.42%.
• Analyst sentiment on Chevron is still generally positive, with the stock carrying a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $204.13. Recent ratings have been mixed, including some target cuts, but several firms still have overweight or buy views.
• Chevron reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $1.41 per share, and it also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.78 per share, implying a 3.6% annualized yield. The article also noted insider selling and a 2.6% rise in CVX shares to $196.08.

ProShare Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX - Free Report) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,531,427 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 18,253 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC owned about 0.08% of Chevron worth $233,405,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CVX. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Chevron during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Daytona Street Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Chevron during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Maseco LLP purchased a new stake in Chevron during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Turning Point Benefit Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Chevron during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, High Point Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Chevron during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $53,000. 72.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price objective on shares of Chevron from $216.00 to $204.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 11th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Chevron from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Chevron from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $176.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Chevron in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Chevron from $174.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $204.13.

Chevron News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Chevron this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Chevron agreed to sell some Asia-Pacific downstream assets and its SRC stake to Japan’s ENEOS for about $2.2 billion, a move that should help streamline the portfolio and unlock cash for higher-return uses. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Chevron’s CEO warning about possible physical oil shortages added to the bullish backdrop for energy prices, which can support upstream earnings and cash flow. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Unusually heavy call-option buying suggests traders are positioning for more upside in Chevron shares, often a sign of growing short-term optimism.
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary also highlighted Chevron as a trending and potentially attractive dividend stock, reinforcing the view that investors see it as a defensive income name with upside potential. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Brokerage optimism and “buy” discussions from analysts may be supporting interest in the stock, but the article itself did not point to a new rating change or specific catalyst. Article Title

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Vice Chairman Mark A. Nelson sold 139,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.92, for a total value of $26,233,632.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 11,337 shares in the company, valued at $2,130,449.04. This trade represents a 92.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew Benjamin Walz sold 11,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.58, for a total value of $2,187,528.00. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 803,570 shares of company stock valued at $151,969,798 over the last 90 days. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Chevron Trading Up 2.6%

CVX stock opened at $196.08 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $193.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $173.68. 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 firm has a market cap of $390.52 billion, a PE ratio of 33.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.51.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The oil and gas company reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.41. Chevron had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 6.90%. The firm had revenue of $47.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $51.86 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.18 earnings per share. Chevron's revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Chevron Corporation will post 15.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chevron Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 19th will be issued a $1.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 19th. This represents a $7.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Chevron's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.

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