Valero Energy Corporation $VLO Shares Sold by B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG

Key Points

• B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG reduced its position in Valero Energy Corporation by 29.3%, selling 11,796 shares and leaving them with 28,485 shares worth approximately $3.76 million.
• Valero Energy recently reported earnings of $2.28 EPS, exceeding estimates, with revenue of $29.89 billion despite a 13.3% decrease year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.13, with an annualized dividend yield of 3.0% and a high dividend payout ratio of 188.33%.

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG lowered its stake in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 29.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 28,485 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 11,796 shares during the quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG's holdings in Valero Energy were worth $3,762,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Summit Financial LLC lifted its position in Valero Energy by 4.6% in the first quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 1,812 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $239,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Keeley Teton Advisors LLC increased its stake in Valero Energy by 1.1% during the first quarter. Keeley Teton Advisors LLC now owns 7,764 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,025,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its stake in Valero Energy by 2.2% during the first quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 3,798 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $502,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Valero Energy by 4.6% during the first quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,012 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $266,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC increased its stake in Valero Energy by 1.8% during the first quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 5,456 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $721,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on VLO shares. Citigroup lowered shares of Valero Energy from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $134.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. They set an "in-line" rating and a $135.00 target price on the stock. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Valero Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. TD Cowen lowered shares of Valero Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $118.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $159.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $154.47.

Valero Energy Stock Up 0.7%

VLO traded up $1.11 on Friday, reaching $152.27. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,242,681 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,158,698. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $141.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $131.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The company has a market capitalization of $47.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.10. Valero Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $99.00 and a fifty-two week high of $155.12.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The oil and gas company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.62. The business had revenue of $29.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 5.76% and a net margin of 0.62%.The company's revenue was down 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.71 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Valero Energy Corporation 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 Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be issued a $1.13 dividend. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. Valero Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 188.33%.

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.