Diversified Trust Co Trims Position in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Diversified Trust Co trimmed its position in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 11.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,971 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 2,226 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $4,193,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. AXS Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 157.0% in the fourth quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. now owns 203 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the period. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Valero Energy by 32.9% during the fourth quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 206 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Valero Energy

In other news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.90, for a total transaction of $1,776,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 27,242 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,453,629.80. This represents a 21.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of VLO stock opened at $236.50 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $70.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 0.55. Valero Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $130.78 and a 12-month high of $265.61. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $245.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $214.85.

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. The company had revenue of $32.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.38 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 15.94% and a net margin of 3.37%.The firm’s revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.89 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Valero Energy Corporation will post 27.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 34.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VLO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $280.00 target price on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Valero Energy from $232.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Wolfe Research reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $203.00 target price on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $245.59.

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.