EP Wealth Advisors LLC Grows Holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 186,085 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,365 shares during the quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC owned 0.06% of Valero Energy worth $22,812,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $669,400,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,725,700 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $4,257,024,000 after buying an additional 4,805,133 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $132,469,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 15.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,850,859 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $472,077,000 after buying an additional 529,513 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 22.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,864,418 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $351,151,000 after acquiring an additional 525,255 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company's stock.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Valero Energy stock traded up $1.24 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $122.97. 2,167,258 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,022,168. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Valero Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $99.00 and a 1 year high of $167.78. The business has a 50-day moving average of $120.15 and a 200-day moving average of $128.47.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The oil and gas company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.16 by ($0.27). Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.13% and a return on equity of 9.58%. The business had revenue of $28.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.82 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be paid a $1.13 dividend. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.68%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 20th. Valero Energy's payout ratio is currently 159.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VLO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Scotiabank cut their target price on Valero Energy from $156.00 to $136.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Valero Energy from $152.00 to $147.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $144.00 to $140.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised Valero Energy from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $115.00 to $127.00 in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $149.53.

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.