Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Has $5.35 Million Holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. cut its position in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 81.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 40,477 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 179,910 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $5,346,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Moseley Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Moseley Investment Management Inc. now owns 15,325 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $2,024,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 2.5% in the first quarter. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 49,277 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $6,508,000 after buying an additional 1,202 shares during the period. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC boosted its position in Valero Energy by 2.8% during the first quarter. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC now owns 166,498 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $21,989,000 after purchasing an additional 4,548 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Valero Energy by 17.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 10,265 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,356,000 after purchasing an additional 1,516 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Valero Energy by 1,995.1% during the first quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 6,432 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $849,000 after purchasing an additional 6,125 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on VLO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Valero Energy from $152.00 to $147.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Valero Energy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $127.00 to $154.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Valero Energy from $121.00 to $118.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Valero Energy from $160.00 to $145.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on Valero Energy from $160.00 to $150.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $151.93.

Valero Energy Price Performance

NYSE VLO traded up $0.54 during trading on Friday, reaching $134.04. 3,758,276 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,036,156. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.57. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $122.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $127.48. The company has a market cap of $41.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.99. Valero Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $99.00 and a 1-year high of $167.78.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The oil and gas company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.16 by ($0.27). The company had revenue of $28.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.54 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.13% and a return on equity of 9.58%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.82 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be issued a $1.13 dividend. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 20th. Valero Energy's payout ratio is currently 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.