Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Shares Sold by Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC

Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 11.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,443 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 185 shares during the quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $177,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Valero Energy by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,287,269 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,389,090,000 after buying an additional 50,837 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 worth $639,268,000 after buying an additional 247,630 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Valero Energy by 18.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,585,166 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $484,105,000 after buying an additional 567,059 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Valero Energy by 4,908.0% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,809,355 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $440,394,000 after purchasing an additional 82,539 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Valero Energy Stock Down 0.7 %

VLO stock opened at $139.80 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $44.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.42. Valero Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $116.84 and a 52 week high of $184.79. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $131.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $137.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $32.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.04 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.74% and a return on equity of 13.07%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $7.49 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be given a dividend of $1.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 30th. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.23%. This is a boost from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is presently 40.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on VLO. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $150.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $172.00 to $151.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $154.57.

Valero Energy Profile

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.