DAVENPORT & Co LLC Sells 265 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

DAVENPORT & Co LLC decreased its stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,327 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 265 shares during the quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $2,253,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in VLO. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in Valero Energy by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,065,228 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,276,875,000 after purchasing an additional 395,771 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 8.3% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,635,050 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $775,264,000 after acquiring an additional 587,056 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 7.6% in the 2nd quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 6,128,301 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $718,850,000 after acquiring an additional 434,057 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Valero Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $534,892,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Valero Energy by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,899,875 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $552,651,000 after purchasing an additional 121,057 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VLO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Valero Energy from $161.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $149.00 to $179.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $156.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Friday, March 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Valero Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.62.

Valero Energy Stock Up 1.6 %

NYSE:VLO opened at $183.42 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $151.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $137.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Valero Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $104.18 and a 12-month high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The oil and gas company reported $3.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.95 by $0.60. The firm had revenue of $35.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.76 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 31.62% and a net margin of 6.10%. The company’s revenue was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $8.45 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 16.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 1st were paid a $1.07 dividend. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 31st. This is an increase from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.31%.

Valero Energy Profile

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.