Rakuten Securities Inc. Makes New Investment in Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX)

Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new position in Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 1,286 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $192,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CVX. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisor L.P grew its position in shares of Chevron by 85.1% during the 1st quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisor L.P now owns 159,115 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $25,908,000 after acquiring an additional 73,141 shares during the period. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC grew its position in shares of Chevron by 25.2% during the 1st quarter. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC now owns 7,335 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,155,000 after acquiring an additional 1,476 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Chevron by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 40,538 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $6,598,000 after acquiring an additional 1,813 shares during the period. Lumature Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Chevron by 43.5% during the 1st quarter. Lumature Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,837 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $950,000 after acquiring an additional 1,770 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Chevron by 13.8% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,068,600 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $336,830,000 after acquiring an additional 250,840 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 72.42% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on CVX shares. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Chevron in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Chevron from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Chevron from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $184.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Barclays started coverage on shares of Chevron in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $203.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Chevron from $185.00 to $198.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $183.55.

Insider Transactions at Chevron

In other news, VP Alana K. Knowles sold 2,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.09, for a total value of $448,252.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 276 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,184.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Chevron Stock Performance

Chevron stock opened at $156.38 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $155.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $151.86. Chevron Co. has a twelve month low of $139.62 and a twelve month high of $172.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a market cap of $290.44 billion, a PE ratio of 13.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.12.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The oil and gas company reported $3.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.19 by $0.26. Chevron had a net margin of 10.63% and a return on equity of 15.24%. The firm had revenue of $47.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $50.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.09 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 16.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Chevron Co. will post 13.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chevron Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 16th were issued a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. This is an increase from Chevron’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.51. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.17%. Chevron’s payout ratio is 57.39%.

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.