Vontobel Holding Ltd. Has $553,000 Holdings in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. lowered its stake in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 63.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,188 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 7,341 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd.'s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $553,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 4th quarter worth $52,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $236,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $132,469,000. AMG National Trust Bank raised its position in Valero Energy by 32.3% during the fourth quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 2,050 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $251,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Valero Energy by 32.7% during the fourth quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,360 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $290,000 after acquiring an additional 581 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company's stock.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VLO traded up $3.62 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $147.36. The company's stock had a trading volume of 831,913 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,049,352. Valero Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $99.00 and a fifty-two week high of $167.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.01, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.00. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $131.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $128.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.56.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The oil and gas company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.16 by ($0.27). The business had revenue of $28.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.54 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 6.30% and a net margin of 0.72%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.82 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 20th were given a $1.13 dividend. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 20th. Valero Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 159.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the company. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on Valero Energy from $156.00 to $136.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Valero Energy from $152.00 to $147.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Valero Energy from $158.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Valero Energy from $150.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $151.75.

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.