Valero Energy Corporation $VLO Shares Sold by Osmosis Investment Management UK Ltd

Osmosis Investment Management UK Ltd lowered its position in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 73.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,129 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 22,165 shares during the quarter. Osmosis Investment Management UK Ltd's holdings in Valero Energy were worth $2,117,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 0.9% in the 4th 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. raised its position in Valero Energy by 0.5% in the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 63,919 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Valero Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,111,542,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Valero Energy by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,668,210 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $922,728,000 after buying an additional 394,693 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in Valero Energy by 11.4% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,033,310 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,243,630,000 after purchasing an additional 516,975 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.17, for a total value of $2,011,275.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 19,742 shares in the company, valued at $5,294,212.14. This represents a 27.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on VLO. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Valero Energy from $292.00 to $356.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Mizuho boosted their target price on Valero Energy from $289.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Valero Energy from $232.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $329.00 price objective on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $288.00.

Valero Energy Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:VLO opened at $346.15 on Tuesday. Valero Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $144.30 and a 52-week high of $353.00. 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 company has a market capitalization of $99.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.23 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a 50 day moving average of $294.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $255.29.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas company reported $12.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $10.11 by $2.43. Valero Energy had a net margin of 5.17% and a return on equity of 26.74%. The business had revenue of $44.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.28 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 48.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Valero Energy Corporation will post 40.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. Valero Energy's dividend payout ratio is 19.92%.

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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