Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Purchases 4,338 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 134,908 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after buying an additional 4,338 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $18,217,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of VLO. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Valero Energy by 4,908.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,850,526 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $384,907,000 after acquiring an additional 2,793,607 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Valero Energy by 11,318.9% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,076,349 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $145,339,000 after buying an additional 1,066,923 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 900.2% during the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 631,095 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $85,217,000 after buying an additional 568,000 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 18.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,585,166 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $484,105,000 after buying an additional 567,059 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $70,352,000. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on VLO shares. Piper Sandler cut Valero Energy from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $169.00 to $123.00 in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $150.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their target price on Valero Energy from $173.00 to $141.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $155.50.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

VLO stock traded up $1.00 on Wednesday, hitting $133.32. The company had a trading volume of 2,348,814 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,909,896. 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 Co. has a 12-month low of $120.21 and a 12-month high of $184.79. The stock has a market cap of $42.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.39. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $136.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $143.82.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.16. Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.74% and a return on equity of 13.07%. The business had revenue of $32.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $31.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $7.49 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $1.07 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.21%. Valero Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 38.39%.

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.