SVB Wealth LLC Sells 38,259 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

SVB Wealth LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 20.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 144,996 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 38,259 shares during the period. SVB Wealth LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $18,849,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY raised its stake in Valero Energy by 0.5% during the third quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 16,630 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,357,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 5,146 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $729,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its position in Valero Energy by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 10,000 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,417,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors boosted its position in Valero Energy by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 1,690 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $220,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fulcrum Equity Management boosted its position in Valero Energy by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Fulcrum Equity Management now owns 8,806 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,145,000 after buying an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Valero Energy Stock Down 1.2 %

VLO traded down $1.99 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $168.68. The company had a trading volume of 633,250 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,358,906. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $156.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $138.56. Valero Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $104.18 and a 52 week high of $184.79. The company has a market capitalization of $56.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.90, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The oil and gas company reported $3.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.95 by $0.60. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 31.62% and a net margin of 6.10%. The firm had revenue of $35.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.76 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $8.45 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Co. will post 17.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 1st were given a dividend of $1.07 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 31st. This is an increase from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.54%. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is presently 17.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on VLO shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Valero Energy from $171.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $167.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Valero Energy from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Valero Energy from $161.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $172.40.

About Valero Energy

Valero Energy Corporation manufactures, markets, and sells petroleum-based and low-carbon liquid transportation fuels and petrochemical products in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Latin America, Mexico, Peru, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Refining, Renewable Diesel, and Ethanol.