Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Sells 107,194 Shares of Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA trimmed its position in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 5.3% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,908,575 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 107,194 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $503,746,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 432,725 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $112,699,000 after buying an additional 19,288 shares in the last quarter. One Degree Advisors Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $282,000. Ballast Inc. boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 7.4% during the 2nd quarter. Ballast Inc. now owns 6,217 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,619,000 after acquiring an additional 430 shares in the last quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Valero Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $205,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Valero Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $286,000. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on VLO shares. Barclays upped their target price on Valero Energy from $279.00 to $323.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial lifted their price target on Valero Energy from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Valero Energy from $286.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. UBS Group upped their price objective on Valero Energy from $280.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $350.00 price objective on Valero Energy in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $288.00.

Insider Activity at Valero Energy

In related news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.17, for a total value of $2,011,275.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 19,742 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,294,212.14. The trade was a 27.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE VLO opened at $341.36 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $283.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $247.97. The firm has a market cap of $98.29 billion, a PE ratio of 14.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.23 and a beta of 0.55. Valero Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $135.01 and a 1 year high of $346.09. 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 (NYSE:VLO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas company reported $12.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.47 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.28 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 48.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Valero Energy Corporation will post 40.62 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. Valero Energy’s payout ratio 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.