Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Shares Sold by Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 0.7% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 15,676 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 117 shares during the quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $1,839,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VLO. Shelton Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 3.6% during the second quarter. Shelton Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,279 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $267,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 3.0% during the second quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 2,778 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $326,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. WealthPLAN Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 11.0% during the second quarter. WealthPLAN Partners LLC now owns 858 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $101,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 1.4% during the second quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 6,270 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $735,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Peddock Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 0.9% during the second quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC now owns 9,746 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,143,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. 77.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on VLO. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $142.00 to $144.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 3rd. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. lowered shares of Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $150.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Monday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $144.00 to $141.00 in a research note on Monday, October 9th. Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, July 31st. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $174.00 to $159.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $153.64.

Valero Energy Stock Up 1.8 %

VLO stock opened at $124.11 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $132.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $124.18. The firm has a market cap of $42.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.23, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.08. Valero Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $104.18 and a 1-year high of $152.20.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 26th. The oil and gas company reported $7.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.36 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $38.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.46 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 7.11% and a return on equity of 39.97%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 13.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $7.14 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Valero Energy Co. will post 24.91 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 17th will be given a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 16th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.29%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.91%.

About Valero Energy

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.