Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. Sells 342,220 Shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO)

Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. cut its stake in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 16.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,716,790 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 342,220 shares during the period. Valero Energy makes up approximately 3.0% of Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. owned approximately 0.55% of Valero Energy worth $226,736,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. World Investment Advisors boosted its holdings in Valero Energy by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 4,323 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $530,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,878 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,086,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Field & Main Bank grew its stake in Valero Energy by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Field & Main Bank now owns 7,982 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,054,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Heritage Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Valero Energy by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Heritage Wealth Management Inc. now owns 19,349 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $2,555,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KCM Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Valero Energy by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,497 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $674,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VLO has been the topic of several recent research reports. Raymond James Financial lifted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $155.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $150.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Scotiabank dropped 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $151.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Valero Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Monday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $153.94.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Valero Energy stock traded up $1.68 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $144.87. 2,418,801 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,086,152. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $135.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $129.74. Valero Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $99.00 and a twelve month high of $167.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company has a market cap of $45.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.00.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The oil and gas company reported $0.89 EPS 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 business had revenue of $28.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.82 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities 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 will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.12%. Valero Energy's payout ratio is 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.