Valero Energy Corporation $VLO Shares Sold by Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC

Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC lowered its stake in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 87.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,441 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 9,960 shares during the period. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $194,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Valero Energy by 2.5% in the second 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 purchasing an additional 286,942 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Valero Energy by 276.9% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,795,436 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,425,754,000 after buying an additional 7,931,018 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Valero Energy by 16.7% during the 2nd 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 buying an additional 1,164,217 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $827,390,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $675,369,000 after acquiring an additional 148,195 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of VLO opened at $167.85 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $171.22 and a 200-day moving average of $154.95. The company has a market cap of $51.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.60. Valero Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $99.00 and a 1 year high of $185.62.

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

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 20th. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is 94.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VLO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $195.00 price objective (up from $181.00) on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $181.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $177.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $135.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Friday, September 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $183.20.

Insider Activity

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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 134,196 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,352,787.92. The trade was a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Company Profile

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.