Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Sells 1,710 Shares of Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. reduced its stake in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 13.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,441 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 1,710 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $2,980,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $1,111,542,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new position in Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $275,239,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Valero Energy by 2,635.7% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 950,527 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $154,736,000 after buying an additional 915,782 shares during the last quarter. Amundi raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 45.3% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 2,584,976 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $638,695,000 after acquiring an additional 806,018 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Valero Energy by 49.3% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,696,811 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $276,224,000 after acquiring an additional 560,116 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Valero Energy news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of Valero Energy stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.17, for a total value of $2,011,275.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 19,742 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,294,212.14. The trade was a 27.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

NYSE VLO opened at $346.15 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $294.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $255.29. Valero Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $144.30 and a 12-month high of $353.00. The company has a market capitalization of $99.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.36, a P/E/G ratio of 0.23 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas company reported $12.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.11 by $2.43. Valero Energy had a net margin of 5.17% and a return on equity of 26.74%. The company had revenue of $44.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.47 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.28 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 48.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Corporation will post 40.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Valero Energy from $280.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Valero Energy from $286.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings raised Valero Energy from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Barclays boosted their price target on Valero Energy from $279.00 to $323.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Valero Energy from $232.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $288.00.

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.