Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Sells 42,302 Shares of Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 6.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 651,440 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 42,302 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $160,958,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of VLO. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,177,191 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,959,065,000 after buying an additional 163,975 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 0.5% in 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 in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Valero Energy in the fourth quarter worth $1,111,542,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Valero Energy by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,285,161 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $534,791,000 after purchasing an additional 17,336 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $236.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Valero Energy from $246.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Valero Energy from $232.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Weiss Ratings cut Valero Energy from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $215.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $247.59.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VLO opened at $280.61 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market cap of $83.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 0.55. Valero Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $130.78 and a 1-year high of $284.28. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $252.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $224.17.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.16 by $1.06. The company had revenue of $32.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.38 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 15.94% and a net margin of 3.37%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.89 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Corporation will post 28.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st were given a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is 34.88%.

More Valero Energy News

Here are the key news stories impacting Valero Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Valero could benefit from the recent rise in refining margins as renewed Middle East tensions keep crude supply risks in focus and traders favor fuel producers with strong processing capacity. Can Valero Energy Benefit From Renewed Middle East Tensions?
• Positive Sentiment: Industry commentary from energy analyst Paul Sankey pointed to U.S. refining capacity as the key bottleneck keeping gasoline prices elevated, which is constructive for refiners like Valero Energy. Veteran Energy Analyst: “Crude Oil Is Not the Problem.” Here’s What’s Keeping Gas Prices High.
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage also noted that refinery stocks, including VLO, are attracting buyers as investors expect healthy gasoline and diesel margins to hold up into earnings season. Refinery Stocks Rise Near Buy Points After Trump Ceasefire Comment
• Neutral Sentiment: Valero is approaching its late-July earnings report, and analysts expect a strong year-over-year profit increase, which could keep sentiment upbeat ahead of the release. What to Expect From Valero Energy’s Q2 2026 Earnings Report
• Negative Sentiment: Oil prices remain highly sensitive to geopolitical headlines, so any easing of Middle East tensions could reduce the near-term support for refiners and weigh on the stock’s momentum.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.17, for a total transaction of $2,011,275.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 19,742 shares in the company, valued at $5,294,212.14. This represents a 27.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.36% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Valero Energy

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.