Smartleaf Asset Management LLC Buys 3,004 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 23.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,056 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,004 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC's holdings in Valero Energy were worth $1,920,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of VLO. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 4,908.0% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,850,526 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $384,907,000 after purchasing an additional 2,793,607 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its holdings in 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 valued at $85,217,000 after buying an additional 568,000 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Valero Energy by 18.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,585,166 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $484,105,000 after buying an additional 567,059 shares during the period. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $70,352,000. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 501.1% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 582,500 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $78,655,000 after acquiring an additional 485,600 shares during the period. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VLO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Mizuho dropped their target price 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. Tudor Pickering upgraded Valero Energy from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays reduced their target price on Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler raised shares of Valero Energy from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $154.46.

Valero Energy Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of VLO traded down $1.97 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $128.77. The company had a trading volume of 2,066,371 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,770,156. Valero Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $116.84 and a 52 week high of $184.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.57. The company has a market capitalization of $40.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.42. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $132.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $135.05.

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 for the quarter, beating 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 forecast 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 will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, January 30th will be issued a $1.13 dividend. 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 3.51%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 30th. Valero Energy's payout ratio is presently 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.