Montecito Bank & Trust Sells 72 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Montecito Bank & Trust reduced its position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 1.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,144 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 72 shares during the period. Montecito Bank & Trust’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $707,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VLO. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 40.3% in the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 303 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Valero Energy

In related news, Director Kimberly S. Greene sold 720 shares of Valero Energy stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.12, for a total value of $113,846.40. Following the sale, the director now owns 13,314 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,105,209.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on VLO shares. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $176.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Argus lowered shares of Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. Bank of America raised shares of Valero Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $156.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $187.00 to $169.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given 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 $172.00.

Valero Energy Price Performance

NYSE:VLO opened at $152.46 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market cap of $49.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $159.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $148.87. Valero Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $108.28 and a 1-year high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.64. Valero Energy had a net margin of 5.01% and a return on equity of 24.82%. The firm had revenue of $31.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $32.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $8.27 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 17.32 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 30th will be paid a $1.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 30th. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.81%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.20%.

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.