Access Financial Services Inc. Sells 565 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Access Financial Services Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 12,858 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 565 shares during the period. Valero Energy comprises 0.9% of Access Financial Services Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest position. Access Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $1,672,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in Valero Energy by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,065,228 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,276,875,000 after purchasing an additional 395,771 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Valero Energy by 8.3% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,635,050 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $775,264,000 after purchasing an additional 587,056 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Valero Energy by 7.6% during the 2nd quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 6,128,301 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $718,850,000 after purchasing an additional 434,057 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Valero Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $534,892,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Valero Energy by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,899,875 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $552,651,000 after purchasing an additional 121,057 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VLO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $156.00 to $210.00 in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $138.00 to $171.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Mizuho lowered shares of Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the company from $150.00 to $173.00 in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $130.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $154.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $165.69.

Valero Energy Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of Valero Energy stock opened at $170.69 on Friday. Valero Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $104.18 and a 12-month high of $172.46. The company has a market cap of $56.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.90, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $145.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $135.75.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The oil and gas company reported $3.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.95 by $0.60. Valero Energy had a net margin of 6.10% and a return on equity of 31.62%. The firm had revenue of $35.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.76 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $8.45 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 16.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 1st were paid a $1.07 dividend. This is an increase from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 31st. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.31%.

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.