Confluence Wealth Services Inc. Has $870,000 Position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Confluence Wealth Services Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 8.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,096 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 674 shares during the period. Confluence Wealth Services Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $870,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VLO. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 4,908.0% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,850,526 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $384,907,000 after acquiring an additional 2,793,607 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 11,318.9% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,076,349 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $145,339,000 after purchasing an additional 1,066,923 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 900.2% in the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 631,095 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $85,217,000 after purchasing an additional 568,000 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 18.8% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,585,166 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $484,105,000 after buying an additional 567,059 shares during the period. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC bought a new position in Valero Energy during the third quarter worth $70,352,000. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Valero Energy Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE VLO opened at $140.54 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $130.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $137.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.42. Valero Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $116.84 and a 1 year high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.50. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 2.13%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 8.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, January 30th will be given a $1.13 dividend. This is a positive change from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 30th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup decreased their price target on Valero Energy from $192.00 to $176.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Mizuho lowered their target price on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. TD Cowen cut their price target on Valero Energy from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler raised shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Valero Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $154.46.

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.