Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Shares Sold by Financial Management Professionals Inc.

Financial Management Professionals Inc. reduced its stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 12.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,374 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 328 shares during the quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $405,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its holdings in Valero Energy by 40.3% during the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 303 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on VLO shares. Bank of America upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $156.00 to $210.00 in a report on Friday, March 15th. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $176.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $130.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $179.00 to $173.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $138.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $172.00.

Valero Energy Trading Up 1.8 %

NYSE VLO opened at $156.77 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $157.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $150.09. The company has a market capitalization of $51.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.47. Valero Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $112.16 and a 12 month high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.64. The firm had revenue of $31.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $32.02 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 5.01% and a return on equity of 24.82%. The company’s revenue was down 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $8.27 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 16.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 30th were given a dividend of $1.07 per share. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 30th. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is currently 21.20%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Valero Energy news, Director Kimberly S. Greene sold 720 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.12, for a total transaction of $113,846.40. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,314 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,105,209.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Valero Energy 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.