Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Has $328.53 Million Stake in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 13.3% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,929,599 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 226,167 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $328,534,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,724,707 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,576,035,000 after purchasing an additional 286,942 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased 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 worth $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 second quarter valued at approximately $827,390,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 3.0% in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,024,322 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $675,369,000 after buying an additional 148,195 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi boosted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 2,381,316 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $331,415,000 after buying an additional 77,070 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Valero Energy

In other Valero Energy news, CFO Jason W. Fraser sold 9,933 shares of Valero Energy stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $23,352,787.92. The trade was a 6.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on VLO. Erste Group Bank assumed coverage on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Monday, November 10th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $216.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $181.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $223.00 to $217.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $183.00.

Valero Energy Trading Down 0.7%

VLO opened at $183.35 on Monday. Valero Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $99.00 and a fifty-two week high of $192.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.92 billion, a PE ratio of 38.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The company’s 50-day moving average is $174.02 and its 200 day moving average is $161.28.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $3.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.51. The business had revenue of $32.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.80 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 8.69% and a net margin of 1.21%.The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.14 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 20th were paid a dividend of $1.13 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 20th. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 94.36%.

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.