Advisors Asset Management Inc. Sells 3,108 Shares of Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Advisors Asset Management Inc. decreased its position in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 4.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 70,538 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 3,108 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $12,010,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 70.2% during the 3rd quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 160 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 1,277.8% in the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 248 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 145.3% during the 3rd quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 211 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VLO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Barclays increased their price target on Valero Energy from $169.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $195.00 price objective (up previously from $181.00) on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Valero Energy to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $187.67.

Insider Transactions at Valero Energy

In other Valero Energy news, CFO Jason W. Fraser sold 9,933 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.02, for a total value of $1,728,540.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 134,196 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,352,787.92. This trade represents a 6.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

NYSE VLO opened at $199.60 on Wednesday. Valero Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $99.00 and a fifty-two week high of $204.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.77. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $177.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $166.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.60.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.55. The company had revenue of $30.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.20 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 1.91% and a return on equity of 12.34%. Valero Energy’s revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.64 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 5th will be issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. This is a positive change from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 5th. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.83%.

About Valero Energy

Valero Energy Corporation is a San Antonio, Texas–based integrated downstream energy company that manufactures and markets transportation fuels, petrochemical feedstocks and other industrial products. The company’s operations focus on refining crude oil into finished fuels such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, as well as producing asphalt and other refined product streams for commercial and industrial customers.

In addition to refining, Valero has significant operations in renewable fuels, including the production of ethanol and other biofuels, and it manages an extensive logistics network of pipelines, terminals, rail and marine assets to move feedstocks and finished products.