Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC Sells 18,487 Shares of Chevron Corporation $CVX

Key Points

• Villere ST Denis J & Co. cut its Chevron stake by 10.3%, selling 18,487 shares in Q3; it still held 161,427 shares worth about $33 million, or 3.4% of its portfolio.
• Chevron beat quarterly estimates with earnings of $5.28 per share and revenue of $65.24 billion. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.78 per share, equivalent to a 3.4% yield.
• Analysts’ consensus rating was “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $221.88. Company insiders sold roughly 379,470 shares over the quarter.

Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC trimmed its position in shares of Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX - Free Report) by 10.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 161,427 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 18,487 shares during the period. Chevron comprises 3.4% of Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC's holdings in Chevron were worth $32,965,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CVX. Raymond James Financial dropped their target price on shares of Chevron from $230.00 to $225.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Weiss Ratings downgraded Chevron from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Monday, November 2nd. William Blair began coverage on Chevron in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. UBS Group lifted their price target on Chevron from $235.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. Finally, HSBC set a $90.00 price target on shares of Chevron in a research note on Friday, September 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Chevron has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $221.88.

Insider Activity at Chevron

In other Chevron news, CEO Michael K. Wirth sold 317,100 shares of Chevron stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.46, for a total value of $63,565,866.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 26,308 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,273,701.68. The trade was a 92.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew Walz sold 16,800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.06, for a total transaction of $3,377,808.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 14 shares in the company, valued at $2,814.84. The trade was a 99.92% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 379,470 shares of company stock worth $77,216,415. Company insiders own 0.56% of the company's stock.

Chevron Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:CVX opened at $210.91 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Chevron Corporation has a 12 month low of $146.49 and a 12 month high of $236.48. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $215.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $194.63. The company has a market cap of $416.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.43, a PEG ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 0.47.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 30th. The oil and gas company reported $5.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.87 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $65.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $61.82 billion. Chevron had a return on equity of 14.64% and a net margin of 11.56%. Chevron's revenue was up 36.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.85 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Chevron Corporation will post 18.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Chevron Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.78 per share. This represents a $7.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 18th. Chevron's payout ratio is currently 52.08%.

Chevron Company Profile

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.

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