Appleton Partners Inc. MA Has $793,000 Stock Holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Appleton Partners Inc. MA lessened its holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 60.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,760 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 10,245 shares during the period. Appleton Partners Inc. MA’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $793,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Live Oak Investment Partners acquired a new stake in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Valero Energy during the first quarter valued at $27,000. Sageworth Trust Co boosted its position in Valero Energy by 716.7% during the first quarter. Sageworth Trust Co now owns 196 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Prostatis Group LLC acquired a new stake in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its position in Valero Energy by 217.6% during the first quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 216 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Valero Energy from $172.00 to $171.00 in a research report on Friday, July 7th. Mizuho raised their target price on Valero Energy from $152.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Valero Energy from $135.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 8th. StockNews.com started coverage on Valero Energy in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $160.00 target price on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Wednesday, July 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $152.69.

Valero Energy Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of VLO opened at $143.76 on Friday. Valero Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $97.73 and a 12-month high of $150.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.66. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $129.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $123.71.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The oil and gas company reported $5.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.08 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $34.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.37 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 42.31% and a net margin of 6.96%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 33.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $11.36 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Valero Energy Co. will post 24.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 3rd were issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 2nd. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is 14.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Valero Energy

In other Valero Energy news, Director Joseph W. Gorder sold 75,580 shares of Valero Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.99, for a total transaction of $10,278,124.20. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 621,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $84,568,373.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Company Profile

Valero Energy Corporation manufactures, markets, and sells transportation fuels and petrochemical products in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Latin America, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Refining, Renewable Diesel, and Ethanol. The company produces California Reformulated Gasoline Blendstock for Oxygenate Blending and Conventional Blendstock for Oxygenate Blending gasolines, CARB diesel, diesel, jet fuel, and asphalt; aromatics; and sulfur crude oils.