Rhumbline Advisers Sells 5,005 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Rhumbline Advisers trimmed its position in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 0.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 630,362 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 5,005 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned 0.20% of Valero Energy worth $83,252,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $669,400,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,725,700 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $4,257,024,000 after buying an additional 4,805,133 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Valero Energy by 15,395.5% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,355,699 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $179,047,000 after buying an additional 1,346,950 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Valero Energy during the 4th quarter worth $132,469,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $98,376,000. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on VLO. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Valero Energy from $160.00 to $150.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Raymond James decreased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $155.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Valero Energy from $121.00 to $118.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $156.00 to $136.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised Valero Energy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $127.00 to $154.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $151.93.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

VLO stock traded up $0.24 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $126.78. 1,844,818 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,026,758. The stock has a market cap of $39.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.95, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock's 50-day moving average is $120.53 and its 200 day moving average is $128.06. Valero Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $99.00 and a 52-week high of $167.78.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 2.13% and a return on equity of 9.58%. The firm had revenue of $28.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.82 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be given a dividend of $1.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.57%. Valero Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 159.72%.

Valero Energy Profile

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.