Westpac Banking Corp Sells 7,593 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Westpac Banking Corp lessened its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 68.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,489 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 7,593 shares during the quarter. Westpac Banking Corp's holdings in Valero Energy were worth $454,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Valero Energy in the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Valero Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Valero Energy in the third quarter valued at $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Valero Energy

In other Valero Energy news, Director Kimberly S. Greene sold 720 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.12, for a total transaction of $113,846.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 13,314 shares in the company, valued at $2,105,209.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Valero Energy Trading Up 0.5 %

VLO stock traded up $0.76 on Thursday, hitting $158.47. 2,596,274 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,177,570. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.55. Valero Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $105.66 and a twelve month high of $184.79. The business's fifty day moving average is $165.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $143.33.

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

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 30th will be given a dividend of $1.07 per share. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 30th. Valero Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on VLO. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Valero Energy from $171.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $138.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Bank of America raised Valero Energy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $156.00 to $210.00 in a report on Friday, March 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $173.87.

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.