Valero Energy Corporation $VLO Shares Sold by Advisors Asset Management Inc.

Key Points

• Advisors Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in Valero Energy Corporation by 3.1%, owning 78,301 shares worth approximately $10.34 million after sell-off.
• Valero Energy reported strong earnings with an EPS of $2.28, significantly exceeding the consensus estimate of $1.66 and generating revenue of $29.89 billion for the last quarter.
• The company's latest quarterly dividend was declared at $1.13 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 2.9%, though the payout ratio stands at a high 188.33%.

Advisors Asset Management Inc. cut its stake in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 3.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 78,301 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 2,519 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $10,341,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 12.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,881,222 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $5,135,043,000 after purchasing an additional 4,155,522 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Valero Energy by 6.9% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,437,765 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,510,586,000 after acquiring an additional 736,533 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Valero Energy by 276.9% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,795,436 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,425,754,000 after acquiring an additional 7,931,018 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Valero Energy by 34.1% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,905,145 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $647,823,000 after acquiring an additional 1,247,196 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the 1st quarter worth $529,864,000. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company's stock.

Valero Energy Trading Up 0.8%

VLO stock traded up $1.26 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $156.65. 2,599,302 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,107,999. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $143.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $132.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.66 billion, a PE ratio of 65.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.10. Valero Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $99.00 and a 1-year high of $159.26.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The oil and gas company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.62. The firm had revenue of $29.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 5.76% and a net margin of 0.62%.The company's quarterly revenue was down 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.71 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. Valero Energy's payout ratio is presently 188.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on VLO. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $159.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. They issued an "in-line" rating and a $135.00 target price for the company. Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $155.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $151.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $156.40.

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.