Bessemer Group Inc. Sells 7,826 Shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO)

Bessemer Group Inc. lessened its holdings in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 38.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,280 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 7,826 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc.'s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $1,622,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Patten Group Inc. bought a new position in Valero Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $277,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,701,232 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,311,864,000 after buying an additional 413,963 shares in the last quarter. Sendero Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 11.0% in the first quarter. Sendero Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,198 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $2,668,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 23.0% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 16,056 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,920,000 after purchasing an additional 3,004 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Applied Finance Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Valero Energy by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 178,293 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $21,857,000 after buying an additional 5,203 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on VLO shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $145.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Scotiabank lowered 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. Raymond James Financial lowered their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $155.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $152.00 to $147.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $121.00 to $118.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $150.88.

Valero Energy Trading Down 1.6%

NYSE:VLO opened at $134.76 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $127.81 and a 200-day moving average of $127.67. The company has a market cap of $42.21 billion, a PE ratio of 47.62, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.99. Valero Energy Corporation has a one year low of $99.00 and a one year high of $167.78.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The oil and gas company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.16 by ($0.27). Valero Energy had a return on equity of 6.30% and a net margin of 0.72%. The firm had revenue of $28.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $28.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.82 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 20th were issued a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 20th. Valero Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.

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