Meeder Asset Management Inc. Purchases 2,263 Shares of Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 297.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,025 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,263 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $747,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 3,400.0% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 105 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the first quarter valued at $28,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 134.0% in the 1st quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 117 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Valero Energy in the first quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Valero Energy Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of Valero Energy stock opened at $313.68 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $260.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $230.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.14 billion, a PE ratio of 22.80, a P/E/G ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.55. Valero Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $130.78 and a twelve month high of $316.57.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.16 by $1.06. The firm had revenue of $32.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.38 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 15.94%. Valero Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.89 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Valero Energy Corporation will post 32.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Investors of record on Friday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Valero Energy

In related news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of Valero Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.17, for a total value of $2,011,275.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 19,742 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,294,212.14. The trade was a 27.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on VLO. Weiss Ratings lowered Valero Energy from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $261.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Mizuho increased their price objective on Valero Energy from $222.00 to $289.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Zacks Research cut shares of Valero Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Valero Energy from $259.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Valero Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $253.06.

Valero Energy 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.