Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA Grows Stock Position in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 18.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 76,429 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 11,961 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $17,394,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Valero Energy by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,177,191 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,959,065,000 after purchasing an additional 163,975 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Valero Energy by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,950,982 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,945,500,000 after purchasing an additional 63,919 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,111,542,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,668,210 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $922,728,000 after buying an additional 394,693 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its position in Valero Energy by 5.3% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 4,143,672 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $705,502,000 after buying an additional 209,597 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Stock Up 1.6%

NYSE VLO opened at $259.05 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.92 billion, a PE ratio of 18.83, a PEG ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $246.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $217.36. Valero Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $130.78 and a fifty-two week high of $265.61.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.16 by $1.06. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 15.94% and a net margin of 3.37%.The firm had revenue of $32.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.38 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.89 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Valero Energy Corporation will post 27.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st were paid a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 21st. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 34.88%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of Valero Energy stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.90, for a total value of $1,776,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 27,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,453,629.80. This trade represents a 21.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on VLO. Mizuho lifted their price target on Valero Energy from $222.00 to $289.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Wolfe Research reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $203.00 price target on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 4th. Citigroup increased their target price on Valero Energy from $246.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $245.59.

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.