Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 905,042 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 23,560 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $117,655,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital Advisors Inc. OK raised its stake in Valero Energy by 1,054.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 140,643 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $18,284,000 after purchasing an additional 128,465 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $2,678,000. AlphaQ Advisors LLC raised its stake in Valero Energy by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. AlphaQ Advisors LLC now owns 3,060 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $398,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares in the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Valero Energy by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,770 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,010,000 after purchasing an additional 743 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baystate Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Valero Energy by 93.2% during the fourth quarter. Baystate Wealth Management LLC now owns 846 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $110,000 after acquiring an additional 408 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Valero Energy stock opened at $169.00 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.83, a PEG ratio of 1.65 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. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $157.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $138.75. Valero Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $104.18 and a 52 week high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The oil and gas company reported $3.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.95 by $0.60. The firm had revenue of $35.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.76 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 6.10% and a return on equity of 31.62%. Valero Energy’s revenue was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $8.45 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 17.25 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 1st were issued a $1.07 dividend. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 17.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $138.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $171.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $172.40.

Valero Energy Company 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.