Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Reduces Stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. reduced its stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 435,818 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 3,131 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. owned approximately 0.14% of Valero Energy worth $53,427,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Tobam bought a new stake in Valero Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in Valero Energy by 196.8% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 276 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on VLO. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $149.00 to $144.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $156.08.

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Valero Energy Stock Performance

Valero Energy stock traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $132.02. The company had a trading volume of 3,103,628 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,771,888. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market cap of $41.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.57, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a 50 day moving average of $133.93 and a 200-day moving average of $133.36. Valero Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $116.84 and a 52 week high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.50. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 2.13%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 30th were issued a $1.13 dividend. This is an increase from Valero Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 30th. Valero Energy's payout ratio is currently 53.30%.

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.