Valero Energy Corporation $VLO Shares Purchased by National Pension Service

National Pension Service increased its position in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 549,675 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,609 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.19% of Valero Energy worth $143,157,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 40,516.1% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 143,816,270 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $37,455,509,000 after buying an additional 143,462,183 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in Valero Energy by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,177,191 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $2,959,065,000 after acquiring an additional 163,975 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Valero Energy by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,950,982 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,945,500,000 after acquiring an additional 63,919 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Valero Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,111,542,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,668,210 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $922,728,000 after acquiring an additional 394,693 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Valero Energy Price Performance

VLO stock opened at $385.92 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $324.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $270.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The stock has a market cap of $111.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.57. Valero Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $155.29 and a 52-week high of $393.54.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas company reported $12.54 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.11 by $2.43. The business had revenue of $44.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.47 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 26.74% and a net margin of 5.17%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 48.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.28 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Corporation will post 41.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st were paid a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 31st. Valero Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on VLO. Mizuho boosted their target price on Valero Energy from $289.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Barclays increased their price target on Valero Energy from $279.00 to $323.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Valero Energy from $286.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Valero Energy from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Valero Energy from $356.00 to $389.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $301.76.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Valero Energy news, SVP Eric Fisher sold 7,500 shares of Valero Energy stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.17, for a total transaction of $2,011,275.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 19,742 shares in the company, valued at $5,294,212.14. This trade represents a 27.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Valero Energy Company Profile

Valero Energy Corporation is an international energy company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. Its primary business is refining crude oil into transportation fuels and other products, including gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, asphalt, lubricants and petrochemical feedstocks.

Valero operates refineries and related facilities in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, and markets its products through wholesale and commercial channels in North America and other international markets.

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