Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Raises Stock Position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 6.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 504,221 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 30,131 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $62,655,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Valero Energy by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,725,700 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,257,024,000 after acquiring an additional 4,805,133 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,701,232 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,311,864,000 after purchasing an additional 413,963 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,687,585 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $639,268,000 after purchasing an additional 247,630 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 13.6% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,072,188 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $499,210,000 after purchasing an additional 487,022 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 4,908.0% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,850,526 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $384,907,000 after buying an additional 2,793,607 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on VLO shares. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Tudor Pickering upgraded Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Valero Energy from $149.00 to $144.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $152.67.

Valero Energy Price Performance

VLO stock opened at $131.43 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.57. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $133.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $133.33. Valero Energy Co. has a one year low of $116.84 and a one year high of $184.79. The company has a market capitalization of $41.40 billion, a PE ratio of 15.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.36.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.50. Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.13% and a return on equity of 9.58%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 30th were issued a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.44%. This is a boost from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 30th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 53.30%.

About Valero Energy

Valero Energy Corporation manufactures, markets, and sells petroleum-based and low-carbon liquid transportation fuels and petrochemical products in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Latin America, Mexico, Peru, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Refining, Renewable Diesel, and Ethanol.