Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Boosts Stake in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Key Points

• Mediolanum International Funds Ltd increased its Valero Energy stake by 40.8% in the first quarter, ending with 29,220 shares worth about $7.31 million.
• Valero continues to attract heavy institutional interest, with 78.69% of shares held by hedge funds and other large investors. Meanwhile, insider activity included SVP Eric A. Fisher selling 7,500 shares in late June.
• The company reported solid results and shareholder returns: quarterly EPS of $4.22 beat estimates, revenue topped forecasts, and Valero announced a $1.20 quarterly dividend payable August 31.

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd grew its position in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 40.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 29,220 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after acquiring an additional 8,461 shares during the quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd's holdings in Valero Energy were worth $7,313,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of VLO. State Street Corp increased its position in Valero Energy by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,177,191 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $2,959,065,000 after purchasing an additional 163,975 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Valero Energy by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,950,982 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,945,500,000 after buying an additional 63,919 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,111,542,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Valero Energy by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,668,210 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $922,728,000 after buying an additional 394,693 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,285,161 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $534,791,000 after acquiring an additional 17,336 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Valero Energy

In related news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.17, for a total value of $2,011,275.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 19,742 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,294,212.14. The trade was a 27.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on VLO shares. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $232.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $280.00 price target on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Wolfe Research reiterated an "underperform" rating and issued a $203.00 price target on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Valero Energy from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Valero Energy from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $253.06.

Valero Energy Price Performance

VLO opened at $313.68 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $260.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $230.82. The firm has a market cap of $93.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.80, a PEG ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.55. Valero Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $130.78 and a twelve month high of $316.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.16 by $1.06. The firm had revenue of $32.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.38 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 15.94%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.89 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Valero Energy Corporation will post 32.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. Valero Energy's payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

Valero Energy 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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