Empire Life Investments Inc. Sells 94,121 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Empire Life Investments Inc. lowered its position in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 35.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 171,804 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 94,121 shares during the quarter. Valero Energy comprises approximately 1.4% of Empire Life Investments Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Empire Life Investments Inc. owned 0.05% of Valero Energy worth $22,335,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of VLO. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in Valero Energy by 6.1% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,961,603 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,269,949,000 after acquiring an additional 517,068 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Valero Energy by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,899,875 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $552,651,000 after purchasing an additional 121,057 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Valero Energy by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,788,994 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $362,569,000 after purchasing an additional 342,218 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 7.1% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,025,956 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $287,098,000 after buying an additional 133,689 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 6.5% in the third quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 2,013,205 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $285,291,000 after buying an additional 122,252 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company's stock.

Valero Energy Price Performance

VLO traded down $0.04 on Tuesday, hitting $155.89. 2,436,651 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,187,891. Valero Energy Co. has a one year low of $105.66 and a one year high of $184.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market cap of $50.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.55. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $164.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $143.00.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.64. The firm had revenue of $31.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $32.02 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 5.01% and a return on equity of 24.82%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $8.27 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Co. will post 18.01 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VLO has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $167.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Raymond James upped their price target on Valero Energy from $154.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Valero Energy from $173.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $138.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $173.87.

Insider Transactions at Valero Energy

In other Valero Energy news, Director Kimberly S. Greene sold 720 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.12, for a total transaction of $113,846.40. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 13,314 shares in the company, valued at $2,105,209.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.47% of the company's stock.

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.

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