Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 45,721 Shares of Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. decreased its stake in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 33.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 91,300 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 45,721 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $22,558,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in VLO. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,177,191 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,959,065,000 after purchasing an additional 163,975 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Valero Energy by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,950,982 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,945,500,000 after acquiring an additional 63,919 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Valero Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,111,542,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Valero Energy by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,668,210 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $922,728,000 after purchasing an additional 394,693 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Valero Energy by 5.3% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 4,143,672 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $705,502,000 after purchasing an additional 209,597 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Valero Energy news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of Valero Energy stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.90, for a total value of $1,776,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 27,242 shares in the company, valued at $6,453,629.80. The trade was a 21.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on VLO. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Valero Energy from $236.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Valero Energy from $203.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Zacks Research downgraded Valero Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $246.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $203.00 target price on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $245.59.

Valero Energy Trading Up 1.6%

NYSE VLO opened at $259.05 on Friday. Valero Energy Corporation has a one year low of $130.78 and a one year high of $265.61. The firm has a market cap of $76.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.83, a PEG ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.58. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $246.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $217.36.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.16 by $1.06. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 15.94% and a net margin of 3.37%.The business had revenue of $32.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.89 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Corporation will post 27.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st were given a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

Valero Energy Company Profile

Valero Energy Corporation is a San Antonio, Texas–based integrated downstream energy company that manufactures and markets transportation fuels, petrochemical feedstocks and other industrial products. The company’s operations focus on refining crude oil into finished fuels such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, as well as producing asphalt and other refined product streams for commercial and industrial customers.

In addition to refining, Valero has significant operations in renewable fuels, including the production of ethanol and other biofuels, and it manages an extensive logistics network of pipelines, terminals, rail and marine assets to move feedstocks and finished products.