Simplicity Wealth LLC Increases Holdings in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Simplicity Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 984.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,394 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,975 shares during the quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $4,009,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VLO. State Street Corp raised its position in Valero Energy by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,177,191 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,959,065,000 after buying an additional 163,975 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,950,982 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,945,500,000 after acquiring an additional 63,919 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the fourth quarter worth $1,111,542,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,668,210 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $922,728,000 after acquiring an additional 394,693 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 11.4% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,033,310 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,243,630,000 after purchasing an additional 516,975 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Valero Energy

In other Valero Energy news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.17, for a total value of $2,011,275.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 19,742 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,294,212.14. This trade represents a 27.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on VLO shares. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $289.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Citigroup increased their price target on Valero Energy from $259.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Valero Energy from $280.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Valero Energy from $232.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Valero Energy from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $288.00.

Valero Energy Stock Down 0.1%

VLO opened at $341.36 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $283.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $248.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.16, a PEG ratio of 0.23 and a beta of 0.55. Valero Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $135.01 and a fifty-two week high of $346.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.64.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas company reported $12.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.11 by $2.43. Valero Energy had a net margin of 5.17% and a return on equity of 26.74%. The business had revenue of $44.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.28 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 48.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Valero Energy Corporation will post 40.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.92%.

Valero Energy Company 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.