First Trust Advisors LP Sells 61,500 Shares of Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

First Trust Advisors LP lowered its holdings in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 19.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 260,943 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 61,500 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.08% of Valero Energy worth $35,076,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 276.9% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,795,436 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,425,754,000 after buying an additional 7,931,018 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Valero Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $827,390,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Valero Energy by 16.7% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,141,511 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,089,897,000 after acquiring an additional 1,164,217 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Valero Energy by 81.2% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,413,182 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $186,498,000 after purchasing an additional 633,157 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $86,647,000. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Valero Energy news, CFO Jason W. Fraser sold 9,933 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.02, for a total value of $1,728,540.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 134,196 shares in the company, valued at $23,352,787.92. This represents a 6.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Valero Energy stock opened at $175.42 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $170.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $153.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.62, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Valero Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $99.00 and a 52-week high of $185.62.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $3.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.51. The company had revenue of $32.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.80 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 1.21% and a return on equity of 8.69%. Valero Energy’s revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.14 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 20th will be issued a $1.13 dividend. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 20th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 94.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on VLO. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Valero Energy from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $160.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $177.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Valero Energy from $135.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Wall Street Zen lowered Valero Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Valero Energy from $216.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $182.00.

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.