ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Purchases 14,912 Shares of Chevron Corporation $CVX

Key Points

• ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. increased its stake in Chevron Corporation by 6.2%, owning 255,789 shares worth approximately $36.6 million after purchasing an additional 14,912 shares in the second quarter.
• Chevron reported $1.77 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, and generated revenues of $44.82 billion, though down 12.4% from the previous year.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.71 per share, providing a yield of 4.5%, with a payout ratio currently at 88.03%.

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX - Free Report) by 6.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 255,789 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 14,912 shares during the quarter. Chevron comprises approximately 1.4% of ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in Chevron were worth $36,626,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CVX. HF Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in Chevron during the first quarter worth $204,000. Breakwater Capital Group boosted its position in Chevron by 28.9% during the first quarter. Breakwater Capital Group now owns 4,387 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $734,000 after purchasing an additional 983 shares during the period. West Coast Financial LLC bought a new position in Chevron during the first quarter worth $205,000. Fjell Capital LLC boosted its position in Chevron by 28.5% during the first quarter. Fjell Capital LLC now owns 7,899 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,321,000 after purchasing an additional 1,754 shares during the period. Finally, Foster Group Inc. boosted its position in Chevron by 26.5% during the first quarter. Foster Group Inc. now owns 3,669 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $614,000 after purchasing an additional 769 shares during the period. 72.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Chevron Trading Up 0.1%

CVX opened at $153.59 on Friday. Chevron Corporation has a twelve month low of $132.04 and a twelve month high of $168.96. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $156.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $149.09. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $265.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.84.

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

Chevron Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 19th were given a dividend of $1.71 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.5%. Chevron's dividend payout ratio is currently 88.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CVX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $178.00 price objective on shares of Chevron in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Chevron in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Scotiabank reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $160.00 target price (up previously from $143.00) on shares of Chevron in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Chevron in a research report on Monday, August 4th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $174.00 target price for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Chevron in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $165.05.

Insider Activity

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

About Chevron

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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