Valero Energy Corporation $VLO Shares Sold by Geode Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Geode Capital Management trimmed its Valero Energy stake by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, though it still held about 8.07 million shares valued at roughly $1.31 billion.
• Valero reported better-than-expected first-quarter results, posting EPS of $4.22 versus the $3.16 estimate and revenue of $32.38 billion, while revenue rose 7% year over year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.20 per share, payable June 23, which annualizes to $4.80 per share and implies a 2.0% yield.

Geode Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,073,146 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 84,646 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned approximately 2.65% of Valero Energy worth $1,309,210,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC now owns 975 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $159,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,610 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,564,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 3,788 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $617,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 16,268 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $2,651,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Montecito Bank & Trust raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust now owns 3,909 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $636,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Valero Energy

In other Valero Energy news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 8,311 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.69, for a total value of $1,892,331.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 42,242 shares of the company's stock, 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 the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

Valero Energy Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of Valero Energy stock opened at $245.10 on Friday. Valero Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $125.10 and a 12-month high of $263.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market cap of $72.78 billion, a PE ratio of 17.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a 50-day moving average of $242.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $206.77.

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

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

VLO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wolfe Research reissued an "underperform" rating and set a $203.00 price target on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $236.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $184.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Valero Energy from a "hold (c)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $182.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $243.65.

Valero Energy Company 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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