Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Shares Sold by Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC.

Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. lessened its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 31.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,934 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 4,095 shares during the period. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $1,095,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of VLO. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter worth $669,400,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings 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 worth $4,257,024,000 after acquiring an additional 4,805,133 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter worth $132,469,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Valero Energy by 15.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,850,859 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $472,077,000 after acquiring an additional 529,513 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Valero Energy by 22.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,864,418 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $351,151,000 after acquiring an additional 525,255 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on VLO shares. Mizuho boosted their target price on Valero Energy from $158.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Barclays boosted their target price on Valero Energy from $140.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Valero Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $127.00 to $154.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Valero Energy from $121.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Valero Energy from $160.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $151.93.

Valero Energy Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of NYSE:VLO opened at $132.20 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Valero Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $99.00 and a 52-week high of $167.78. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $121.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $128.63. The company has a market capitalization of $41.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.98.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The oil and gas company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.16 by ($0.27). Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.13% and a return on equity of 9.58%. The company had revenue of $28.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.82 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be given a dividend of $1.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.42%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 159.72%.

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.