City National Bank of Florida MSD Buys Shares of 2,834 Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

City National Bank of Florida MSD bought a new stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,834 shares of the oil and gas company's stock, valued at approximately $347,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VLO. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 38.1% during the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 6,883 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $844,000 after purchasing an additional 1,899 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Valero Energy by 26.5% during the 4th quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,393 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $813,000 after buying an additional 1,338 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 11,473 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,406,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Valero Energy by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,947 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $606,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Transform Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $292,000. 78.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on VLO. Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of 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. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $140.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Raymond James cut their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $155.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $121.00 to $118.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Tudor Pickering raised shares of Valero Energy from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $151.93.

Valero Energy Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:VLO traded down $0.09 during trading on Friday, reaching $128.63. 2,052,954 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,039,086. The business's fifty day moving average is $121.20 and its 200-day moving average is $128.52. Valero Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $99.00 and a 52-week high of $167.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.17, 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 (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $28.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $28.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.82 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be given a $1.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.51%. Valero Energy's payout ratio is 159.72%.

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.