Swiss National Bank Has $110.94 Million Stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Swiss National Bank lowered its stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 6.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 905,000 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 65,600 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.29% of Valero Energy worth $110,944,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Valero Energy in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Tobam acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 196.8% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 276 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Valero Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Valero Energy Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of VLO stock traded up $1.86 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $133.89. 3,968,177 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,768,487. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.57. Valero Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $116.84 and a fifty-two week high of $184.79. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $133.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $133.58. The firm has a market cap of $42.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.36.

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Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.50. Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.13% and a return on equity of 9.58%. Equities analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 30th were issued a dividend of $1.13 per share. This is an increase from Valero Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 30th. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.38%. Valero Energy's payout ratio is currently 53.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.