Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Shares Sold by MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC

MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 94.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 420 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 7,215 shares during the quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Valero Energy were worth $57,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the second quarter valued at $15,945,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 1.8% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,293,589 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $174,673,000 after purchasing an additional 22,571 shares during the period. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Valero Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at $535,000. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 223.1% in the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 10,796 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,843,000 after purchasing an additional 7,455 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 23.7% in the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 42,716 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $6,696,000 after purchasing an additional 8,198 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on VLO shares. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $149.00 to $131.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. StockNews.com cut Valero Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $155.86.

Valero Energy Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE VLO traded up $0.46 on Thursday, reaching $140.02. 2,483,496 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,952,440. 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 company has a market cap of $44.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.39. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $135.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $146.75. Valero Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $120.21 and a 12 month high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $32.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $31.04 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 13.07% and a net margin of 2.74%. The company's revenue was down 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $7.49 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 9.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a $1.07 dividend. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Valero Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.39%.

Valero Energy Company 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.