Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Shares Purchased by St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC

St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC lifted its holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 7.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,996 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 334 shares during the quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $853,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VLO. Collective Family Office LLC grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 1.5% in the first quarter. Collective Family Office LLC now owns 4,040 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $690,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 4.7% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,327 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $227,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Aua Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 3.1% in the first quarter. Aua Capital Management LLC now owns 2,261 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $386,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. United Community Bank lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. United Community Bank now owns 3,416 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $444,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marino Stram & Associates LLC lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC now owns 8,384 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,090,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Kimberly S. Greene sold 720 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.12, for a total transaction of $113,846.40. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,314 shares in the company, valued at $2,105,209.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on VLO shares. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Bank of America upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $156.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Mizuho reduced their price target 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, June 20th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $167.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Valero Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $172.00.

Valero Energy Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of VLO stock opened at $153.52 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $157.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $149.80. The firm has a market cap of $50.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.60, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.47. Valero Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $112.04 and a 1-year high of $184.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.10.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.64. Valero Energy had a net margin of 5.01% and a return on equity of 24.82%. The company had revenue of $31.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $32.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $8.27 earnings per share. Valero Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 17.09 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.07 per share. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 30th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.20%.

Valero Energy Company Profile

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.