Treasurer of the State of North Carolina Cuts Stock Position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Treasurer of the State of North Carolina cut its stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 12.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 138,832 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 20,583 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina's holdings in Valero Energy were worth $17,019,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $669,400,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,725,700 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $4,257,024,000 after buying an additional 4,805,133 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $132,469,000. Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 159.3% in the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 850,161 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $104,221,000 after acquiring an additional 522,233 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in Valero Energy by 13.6% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,072,188 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $499,210,000 after acquiring an additional 487,022 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company's stock.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

NYSE VLO traded down $2.79 on Tuesday, reaching $107.54. 3,106,437 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,982,163. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.87 billion, a PE ratio of 12.68, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.17. Valero Energy Co. has a one year low of $99.00 and a one year high of $171.23. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $127.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $131.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

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Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.50. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 2.13%. 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 dividend of $1.13 per share. This is a positive change from Valero Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.20%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 30th. Valero Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on VLO shares. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on Valero Energy from $156.00 to $136.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Tudor Pickering raised Valero Energy from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Raymond James decreased their target price on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $155.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Valero Energy has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $152.46.

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.