DAVENPORT & Co LLC Has $5.33 Million Position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

DAVENPORT & Co LLC trimmed its position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 43,443 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 1,358 shares during the quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $5,326,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on VLO. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Scotiabank cut their target price on Valero Energy from $173.00 to $141.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on Valero Energy in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $150.00 price objective for the company. One equities research 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Valero Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $154.46.

Valero Energy Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of VLO stock opened at $136.22 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $43.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.06, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.42. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $130.83 and a 200-day moving average of $137.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Valero Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $116.84 and a 1-year high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be paid a $1.13 dividend. This is a boost from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 30th. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.32%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.30%.

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.