Valero Energy Corporation $VLO Shares Sold by Mediolanum International Funds Ltd

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd cut its position in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 72.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,328 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 34,454 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $2,294,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,724,707 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,576,035,000 after acquiring an additional 286,942 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 16.7% in the 2nd 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 purchasing an additional 1,164,217 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Valero Energy in the 2nd quarter worth about $827,390,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,024,322 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $675,369,000 after purchasing an additional 148,195 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi boosted its position in Valero Energy by 3.3% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 2,381,316 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $331,415,000 after purchasing an additional 77,070 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Zacks Research cut Valero Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $217.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Mizuho restated a “neutral” rating and set a $192.00 price objective (up from $190.00) on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Friday, December 12th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Erste Group Bank initiated coverage on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Monday, November 10th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $183.53.

Valero Energy Trading Up 6.9%

Shares of VLO opened at $192.71 on Wednesday. Valero Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $99.00 and a 52-week high of $194.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $175.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $164.44. The stock has a market cap of $58.78 billion, a PE ratio of 25.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.77.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.55. The business had revenue of $30.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.20 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 1.91% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.64 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 5th will be paid a $1.20 dividend. This is a positive change from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 5th. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 59.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Valero Energy

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

Valero Energy Company Profile

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.