Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Sells 107,194 Shares of Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Key Points

• Massachusetts Financial Services Co. reduced its Valero Energy position by 5.3%, selling 107,194 shares and retaining 1.91 million shares worth approximately $503.7 million. Institutional investors collectively own 78.69% of Valero.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with Valero carrying a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $288; Wells Fargo raised its target to $356 and Citigroup to $302.
• Valero reported quarterly EPS of $12.54, exceeding estimates of $10.11, while revenue rose 48.8% year over year to $44.48 billion. The company also declared a $1.20 quarterly dividend, equivalent to an annualized yield of about 1.4%.

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA reduced its position in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,908,575 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 107,194 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 0.64% of Valero Energy worth $503,746,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its position in Valero Energy by 3,400.0% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 105 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in Valero Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Valero Energy by 134.0% during the 1st quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 117 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Torren Management LLC bought a new position in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on VLO shares. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $259.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Zacks Research raised shares of Valero Energy from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $292.00 to $356.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $178.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $288.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Valero Energy news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.17, for a total transaction of $2,011,275.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 19,742 shares in the company, valued at $5,294,212.14. This trade represents a 27.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of Valero Energy stock opened at $341.36 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.23 and a beta of 0.55. Valero Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $135.01 and a twelve month high of $346.09. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $283.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $247.97.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas company reported $12.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $10.11 by $2.43. Valero Energy had a net margin of 5.17% and a return on equity of 26.74%. The firm had revenue of $44.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.28 EPS. The business's revenue was up 48.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Valero Energy Corporation will post 40.62 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Investors of record on Friday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Valero Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 19.92%.

Valero Energy Company Profile

Valero Energy Corporation is a San Antonio, Texas–based integrated downstream energy company that manufactures and markets transportation fuels, petrochemical feedstocks and other industrial products. The company's operations focus on refining crude oil into finished fuels such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, as well as producing asphalt and other refined product streams for commercial and industrial customers.

In addition to refining, Valero has significant operations in renewable fuels, including the production of ethanol and other biofuels, and it manages an extensive logistics network of pipelines, terminals, rail and marine assets to move feedstocks and finished products.

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