DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main Trims Position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main decreased its position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 38.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,524 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 22,435 shares during the period. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $4,355,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,725,700 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,257,024,000 after purchasing an additional 4,805,133 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,701,232 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,311,864,000 after acquiring an additional 413,963 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,938,335 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $973,119,000 after acquiring an additional 429,252 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,871,229 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $844,775,000 after acquiring an additional 100,248 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Valero Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $669,400,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on VLO. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $152.00 to $147.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Scotiabank decreased 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. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Valero Energy from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $115.00 to $127.00 in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Tudor Pickering raised Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $149.53.

Valero Energy Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE VLO opened at $122.97 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $120.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $128.47. The company has a market cap of $38.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.98. Valero Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $99.00 and a 12-month high of $167.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The oil and gas company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.16 by ($0.27). The company 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 business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.82 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be issued a $1.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.68%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.