Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Acquires 13,194 Shares of Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Key Points

• Meiji Yasuda Asset Management dramatically increased its Valero Energy stake by 846.9% in Q4, buying 13,194 additional shares to bring its total to 14,752 shares valued at about $2.4 million.
• Other institutional investors also added to or initiated positions in VLO, and institutions now own 78.69% of the stock, highlighting continued professional interest in the company.
• Valero posted a strong quarter with EPS of $4.22, well above estimates, while analysts remain broadly positive with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $237.94.

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 846.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,752 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after buying an additional 13,194 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.'s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $2,401,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of VLO. Woodline Partners LP increased its stake in Valero Energy by 40.7% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 26,747 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $3,532,000 after purchasing an additional 7,735 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Valero Energy by 13.0% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,929 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $259,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL bought a new stake in Valero Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $528,000. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in Valero Energy by 11.3% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 269,043 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $36,165,000 after purchasing an additional 27,291 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its stake in Valero Energy by 0.9% in the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 145,810 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $19,600,000 after purchasing an additional 1,338 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on VLO shares. Zacks Research raised shares of Valero Energy from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $203.00 to $237.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $182.00 to $222.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $220.00 to $292.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $255.00 to $276.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $237.94.

Valero Energy Stock Up 2.5%

Valero Energy stock opened at $247.08 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.36 billion, a PE ratio of 17.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 0.58. Valero Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $125.10 and a twelve month high of $263.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company has a 50 day moving average of $241.89 and a 200-day moving average of $204.54.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.16 by $1.06. Valero Energy had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 15.94%. The business had revenue of $32.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $31.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.89 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Corporation will post 26.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Valero Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Valero Energy news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.60, for a total value of $95,440.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Valero Energy

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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