State of Michigan Retirement System Sells 7,100 Shares of Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Key Points

• State of Michigan Retirement System sold 7,100 shares of Valero, a 7.4% reduction that leaves it with 88,962 shares valued at about $14.48 million.
• Several large institutions either established or boosted positions (Arrowstreet opened a ~$275M stake; Allspring, Franklin, MFS and Voloridge added shares), and 78.69% of VLO is owned by institutional investors.
• Wall Street sentiment is largely positive with multiple upgrades and raised targets; Valero has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $235.94, near the stock's recent ~ $238 trading level.

State of Michigan Retirement System cut its stake in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 7.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 88,962 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 7,100 shares during the quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System's holdings in Valero Energy were worth $14,482,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of VLO. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new stake in Valero Energy in the third quarter worth $275,239,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in Valero Energy by 17.7% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,706,187 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $286,076,000 after buying an additional 256,373 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Valero Energy by 5.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,273,517 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $897,869,000 after buying an additional 249,195 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Valero Energy by 13.3% in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Valero Energy by 96.5% in the third quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 444,919 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $75,752,000 after buying an additional 218,448 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on VLO. Zacks Research upgraded Valero Energy from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Valero Energy from $220.00 to $292.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. UBS Group lifted their target price on Valero Energy from $215.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Valero Energy from $203.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Valero Energy from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Valero Energy has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $235.94.

Valero Energy Stock Up 1.0%

NYSE:VLO opened at $238.12 on Tuesday. Valero Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $112.23 and a twelve month high of $258.43. The company has a market cap of $71.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 0.62. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $229.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $194.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.55. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 12.35% and a net margin of 1.91%.The business had revenue of $30.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.20 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.64 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Corporation will post 19.03 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Valero Energy

In other news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 8,311 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.69, for a total transaction of $1,892,331.59. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 42,242 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,618,080.98. This trade represents a 16.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

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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