Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Shares Sold by Nan Shan Life Insurance Co. Ltd.

Nan Shan Life Insurance Co. Ltd. decreased its stake in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 10.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 200,544 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 23,648 shares during the quarter. Nan Shan Life Insurance Co. Ltd. owned about 0.06% of Valero Energy worth $24,585,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 123,356 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $14,751,000 after acquiring an additional 455 shares during the last quarter. Hudson Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Valero Energy by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Hudson Capital Management LLC now owns 31,792 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $3,897,000 after purchasing an additional 1,937 shares during the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC bought a new position in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $274,000. Patten Group Inc. bought a new position in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $277,000. Finally, Occidental Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $319,000. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $152.00 to $147.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $158.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday. Tudor Pickering raised shares of Valero Energy from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $145.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Raymond James reduced their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $155.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Valero Energy has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $151.93.

Valero Energy Stock Up 0.3%

NYSE VLO traded up $0.39 during trading on Friday, reaching $135.76. 2,252,609 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,036,469. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market cap of $42.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.98. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $121.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $128.57. Valero Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $99.00 and a 12-month high of $167.78.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 analysts' expectations of $28.54 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.13% and a return on equity of 9.58%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.82 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be paid a $1.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.33%. Valero Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 159.72%.

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.