6,380 Shares in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO Bought by Integrity Alliance LLC.

Integrity Alliance LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 6,380 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,039,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 194.4% during the 4th quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 212 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. Finally, Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 145.3% during the 3rd quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 211 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on VLO. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $215.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $178.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $203.00 to $237.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $220.00 to $292.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $243.65.

Insider Activity at Valero Energy

In other news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 8,311 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.69, for a total transaction of $1,892,331.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 42,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,618,080.98. This trade represents a 16.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of Valero Energy stock opened at $245.10 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.15. Valero Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $125.10 and a fifty-two week high of $263.75. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $242.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $206.77. The company has a market cap of $72.78 billion, a PE ratio of 17.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 0.58.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.16 by $1.06. Valero Energy had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 15.94%. The firm had revenue of $32.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.89 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Valero Energy Corporation will post 26.51 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.88%.

Valero Energy Company Profile

Valero Energy Corporation is a San Antonio, Texas–based integrated downstream energy company that manufactures and markets transportation fuels, petrochemical feedstocks and other industrial products. The company’s operations focus on refining crude oil into finished fuels such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, as well as producing asphalt and other refined product streams for commercial and industrial customers.

In addition to refining, Valero has significant operations in renewable fuels, including the production of ethanol and other biofuels, and it manages an extensive logistics network of pipelines, terminals, rail and marine assets to move feedstocks and finished products.