Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Sells 6,462 Shares of Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Key Points

• Mirae Asset trimmed its stake in Valero by 1.9%, selling 6,462 shares and now holds 325,977 shares (about 0.11% of the company) valued at roughly $53.07 million.
• Analysts have been raising targets on VLO (Goldman $237, UBS $280, Wells Fargo $292, Barclays $261), leaving a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $230.
• Dividend: Valero raised its quarterly payout to $1.20 ($4.80 annual), implying a 2.0% yield and a payout ratio around 62.8%.

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. cut its stake in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 325,977 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 6,462 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.11% of Valero Energy worth $53,066,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,273,517 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $897,869,000 after purchasing an additional 249,195 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 5.3% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 4,143,672 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $705,502,000 after buying an additional 209,597 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 13.3% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,929,599 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $328,534,000 after buying an additional 226,167 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in Valero Energy by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,904,181 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $324,206,000 after buying an additional 43,237 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in Valero Energy by 17.7% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,706,187 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $286,076,000 after buying an additional 256,373 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on VLO. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Valero Energy from $203.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $215.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $212.00 to $246.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $220.00 to $292.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Valero Energy from $184.00 to $261.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $230.00.

Valero Energy Price Performance

NYSE:VLO opened at $241.78 on Friday. Valero Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $106.83 and a 1-year high of $258.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $224.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $191.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.30 billion, a PE ratio of 31.65, a P/E/G ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 0.62.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.55. The firm had revenue of $30.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.20 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 1.91% and a return on equity of 12.35%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.64 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 5th were issued a $1.20 dividend. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 5th. This is a positive change from Valero Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. Valero Energy's payout ratio is currently 62.83%.

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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