Evolve Private Wealth LLC Reduces Stock Position in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Evolve Private Wealth LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 28.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,899 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 6,707 shares during the period. Evolve Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $4,401,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VLO. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 2,325.2% during the 4th quarter. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC now owns 36,378 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $5,922,000 after acquiring an additional 34,878 shares during the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 846.9% in the 4th quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 14,752 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,401,000 after purchasing an additional 13,194 shares during the period. North Dakota State Investment Board bought a new position in Valero Energy in the 4th quarter worth $1,743,000. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH lifted its position in Valero Energy by 4.2% during the first quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 192,430 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $47,546,000 after purchasing an additional 7,702 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dymon Asia Capital Singapore PTE. LTD. bought a new stake in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,268,000. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on VLO. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $280.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Valero Energy from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Raymond James Financial increased their price target on Valero Energy from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Valero Energy from $292.00 to $356.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. 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 issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $288.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.17, for a total transaction of $2,011,275.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 19,742 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,294,212.14. This represents a 27.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

NYSE VLO opened at $349.27 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.23. Valero Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $140.13 and a 1-year high of $352.70. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $292.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $253.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.57 billion, a PE ratio of 14.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.23 and a beta of 0.55.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas company reported $12.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.11 by $2.43. Valero Energy had a net margin of 5.17% and a return on equity of 26.74%. The business had revenue of $44.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.47 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.28 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 48.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Valero Energy Corporation will post 40.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be issued a $1.20 dividend. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.92%.

Valero Energy 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.