Valero Energy Corporation $VLO Shares Sold by Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd

Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd cut its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 4.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 46,821 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 2,062 shares during the period. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $7,622,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Woodline Partners LP boosted its stake in Valero Energy by 40.7% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 26,747 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,532,000 after buying an additional 7,735 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 13.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,929 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $259,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $528,000. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 11.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 269,043 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $36,165,000 after acquiring an additional 27,291 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 145,810 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $19,600,000 after acquiring an additional 1,338 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on VLO shares. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $215.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $182.00 to $222.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $184.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $178.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Valero Energy from $203.00 to $237.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $237.94.

Insider Transactions at Valero Energy

In related news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 8,311 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.69, for a total transaction of $1,892,331.59. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 42,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,618,080.98. This represents a 16.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:VLO opened at $243.87 on Thursday. Valero Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $125.10 and a fifty-two week high of $258.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.58. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $237.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $200.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.72, a PEG ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 0.58.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.16 by $1.06. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 15.94% and a net margin of 3.37%.The company had revenue of $32.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.89 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Valero Energy Corporation will post 28.02 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a $1.20 dividend. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

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.