Savant Capital LLC Has $2.62 Million Stock Position in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Key Points

• Savant Capital LLC cut its Valero Energy stake by 43.1% in the fourth quarter, leaving it with 16,097 shares valued at about $2.62 million.
• Valero posted strong quarterly results, with EPS of $4.22 versus expectations of $3.16 and revenue of $32.38 billion, up 7% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.20 per share, equal to an annualized payout of $4.80 and a 2.0% yield, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy on average.

Savant Capital LLC lowered its position in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 43.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,097 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 12,188 shares during the quarter. Savant Capital LLC's holdings in Valero Energy were worth $2,620,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC boosted its position in Valero Energy by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC now owns 975 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $159,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Valero Energy by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,610 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,564,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC boosted its position in Valero Energy by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 3,788 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $617,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc boosted its position in Valero Energy by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 16,268 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $2,651,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Montecito Bank & Trust boosted its position in Valero Energy by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust now owns 3,909 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $636,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.60, for a total value of $95,440.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

Valero Energy Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of Valero Energy stock opened at $245.08 on Monday. Valero Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $125.10 and a 12-month high of $263.75. The stock has a market cap of $72.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.81, a P/E/G ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 0.55. 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 business's 50 day moving average is $242.80 and its 200-day moving average is $207.23.

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

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a $1.20 dividend. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. Valero Energy's dividend payout ratio is 34.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VLO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Mizuho upped their price target on Valero Energy from $222.00 to $289.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Valero Energy from $236.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Valero Energy from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Valero Energy from $182.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on Valero Energy from $255.00 to $276.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $243.65.

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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