Sachetta LLC Sells 133 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Sachetta LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 5.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,242 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 133 shares during the period. Sachetta LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $367,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. 9258 Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Valero Energy by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,704 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $222,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $818,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Valero Energy by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 56,564 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $7,353,000 after buying an additional 362 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its stake in Valero Energy by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 12,124 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,576,000 after acquiring an additional 484 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 18.8% during the 4th quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 9,258 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,204,000 after acquiring an additional 1,467 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on VLO shares. Argus cut Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. Mizuho raised Valero Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $165.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. StockNews.com cut shares of Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $171.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.50.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of VLO opened at $134.17 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $148.31 and a 200-day moving average of $155.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.40. Valero Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $119.88 and a twelve month high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The oil and gas company reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.60 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $34.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.97 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 4.25% and a return on equity of 21.01%. The company’s revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.40 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 12.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 1st were paid a $1.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 1st. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.19%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 21.20%.

About Valero Energy

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.