Insider Selling: Chevron (NYSE:CVX) CTO Sells 6,000 Shares of Stock

Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) CTO Thomas Ryder Booth sold 6,000 shares of Chevron stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.43, for a total transaction of $1,070,580.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 476 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $84,932.68. The trade was a 92.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Chevron Stock Down 1.1%

NYSE CVX traded down $2.03 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $179.20. 10,443,539 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,497,938. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $158.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $156.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Chevron Corporation has a 52 week low of $132.04 and a 52 week high of $182.59. The company has a market cap of $360.83 billion, a PE ratio of 26.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.50 and a beta of 0.70.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.08. Chevron had a return on equity of 8.23% and a net margin of 6.51%.The company had revenue of $45.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $48.18 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.06 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Chevron Corporation will post 10.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Chevron Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be given a dividend of $1.78 per share. This represents a $7.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. This is a positive change from Chevron’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.71. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. Chevron’s dividend payout ratio is presently 102.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on CVX shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Chevron from $180.00 to $174.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Chevron from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Chevron from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $176.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Chevron from $196.00 to $204.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Argus set a $203.00 price objective on shares of Chevron in a research note on Tuesday. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $175.00.

Institutional Trading of Chevron

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CVX. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Chevron by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 38,489 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $5,511,000 after acquiring an additional 1,005 shares during the last quarter. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Chevron by 9.1% during the second quarter. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,940 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,423,000 after acquiring an additional 832 shares in the last quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Chevron by 110.1% during the 2nd quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 704 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $101,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares during the last quarter. Spectrum Asset Management Inc. NB CA boosted its position in Chevron by 7.4% in the second quarter. Spectrum Asset Management Inc. NB CA now owns 35,244 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $5,047,000 after purchasing an additional 2,422 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lakeshore Capital Group Inc. raised its stake in Chevron by 18.5% during the 2nd quarter. Lakeshore Capital Group Inc. now owns 5,140 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $736,000 after acquiring an additional 803 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 72.42% of the company’s stock.

Chevron News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Chevron this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Company raised its quarterly dividend (to $1.78) and markets are re-emphasizing Chevron’s cash-return story, which supports demand from income-focused investors. Dividend Hike Coverage
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support and target increases (several buy/overweight notes and price-target bumps) have helped push sentiment and contributed to recent gains. Analyst Upgrade / 12-Month High
• Positive Sentiment: Chevron signed an initial memorandum to explore offshore Syrian waters with a Qatari partner — a potential long?term production growth opportunity if geopolitical and sanction issues can be managed. Reuters: Syrian waters deal
• Neutral Sentiment: Q4 results were mixed — EPS beat modestly but revenue and net income fell year?over?year; that supports the cash?flow narrative but tempers upside from growth metrics. Q4 Presentation
• Neutral Sentiment: Senior leadership changes were announced for strategy, trading and business development — internal promotions reduce execution risk but are not an immediate earnings catalyst. Reuters: leadership changes
• Negative Sentiment: Significant insider selling disclosed this week (CFO, Vice Chairman, other senior officers) — large, concentrated disposals have spooked some investors and can create short?term downward pressure on the stock. SEC Form 4 (CFO sale)
• Negative Sentiment: Oil prices slipped after geopolitical risk eased (U.S.–Iran tensions cooled), reducing the sector’s near?term revenue outlook and weighing on integrated majors like Chevron. Oil Price Slide
• Negative Sentiment: Some shops (HSBC, others) have trimmed estimates or moved to Hold, warning that much of Chevron’s rally may be priced in — such notes can cap further upside. HSBC Cut

About Chevron

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.