Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Reduces Stock Position in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA decreased its stake in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 14.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 239,656 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 39,605 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned about 0.08% of Valero Energy worth $59,226,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,177,191 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,959,065,000 after acquiring an additional 163,975 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,950,982 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,945,500,000 after acquiring an additional 63,919 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,111,542,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,668,210 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $922,728,000 after purchasing an additional 394,693 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its position in Valero Energy by 5.3% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 4,143,672 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $705,502,000 after purchasing an additional 209,597 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Valero Energy stock opened at $266.26 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $246.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $218.31. The company has a market capitalization of $79.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.55. Valero Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $130.78 and a 1 year high of $272.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.58.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.16 by $1.06. Valero Energy had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 15.94%. The firm had revenue of $32.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.89 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Valero Energy Corporation will post 27.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st were paid a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.90, for a total transaction of $1,776,750.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 27,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,453,629.80. This represents a 21.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on VLO shares. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $246.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $203.00 to $237.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Valero Energy from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Valero Energy from $220.00 to $292.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $246.53.

Valero Energy Profile

Valero Energy Corporation is a San Antonio, Texas–based integrated downstream energy company that manufactures and markets transportation fuels, petrochemical feedstocks and other industrial products. The company’s operations focus on refining crude oil into finished fuels such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, as well as producing asphalt and other refined product streams for commercial and industrial customers.

In addition to refining, Valero has significant operations in renewable fuels, including the production of ethanol and other biofuels, and it manages an extensive logistics network of pipelines, terminals, rail and marine assets to move feedstocks and finished products.