Meeder Asset Management Inc. Sells 2,795 Shares of Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Meeder Asset Management Inc. lessened its position in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 92.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 230 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 2,795 shares during the quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $60,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 3,400.0% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 105 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Valero Energy by 134.0% in the 1st quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 117 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in Valero Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on VLO. Raymond James Financial increased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $280.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $350.00 target price on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $232.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $289.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $288.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Valero Energy news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.17, for a total value of $2,011,275.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 19,742 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,294,212.14. This trade represents a 27.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of Valero Energy stock opened at $341.30 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $291.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $253.02. Valero Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $137.88 and a 12-month high of $352.70. The firm has a market cap of $98.27 billion, a PE ratio of 14.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.23 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas company reported $12.54 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.11 by $2.43. The firm had revenue of $44.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.47 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 5.17% and a return on equity of 26.74%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 48.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.28 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Valero Energy Corporation will post 40.62 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.92%.

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.