Valero Energy Corporation $VLO Shares Sold by Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. trimmed its stake in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 96,047 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 4,643 shares during the period. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $15,686,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Accordant Advisory Group Inc raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 194.4% during the 4th quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 212 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 8,311 shares of Valero Energy stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 42,242 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,618,080.98. This trade represents a 16.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Valero Energy from $203.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Valero Energy from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 4th. Citigroup raised their target price on Valero Energy from $246.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Wolfe Research restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $203.00 target price on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $237.94.

Valero Energy Stock Down 3.3%

VLO opened at $254.01 on Thursday. Valero Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $125.10 and a 12 month high of $263.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The stock has a market cap of $75.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.46, a P/E/G ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 0.58. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $241.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $203.74.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.16 by $1.06. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 15.94% and a net margin of 3.37%.The firm had revenue of $32.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.38 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.89 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Valero Energy Corporation will post 28.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.