Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Shares Sold by Benjamin Edwards Inc.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. reduced its holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,638 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 328 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $1,672,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of VLO. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 16.1% in 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 in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Valero Energy by 4.0% in 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 in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,938,335 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $973,119,000 after purchasing an additional 429,252 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,871,229 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $844,775,000 after buying an additional 100,248 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $669,400,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $149.00 to $144.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Valero Energy from $152.00 to $147.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Valero Energy from $160.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Valero Energy from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $115.00 to $127.00 in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $149.80.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:VLO opened at $116.93 on Thursday. Valero Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $99.00 and a twelve month high of $167.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.79, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $120.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $128.65.

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

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be paid a dividend of $1.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.87%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 159.72%.

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.