iA Global Asset Management Inc. Has $3.55 Million Holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

iA Global Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 22,611 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 708 shares during the quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $3,545,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in Valero Energy in the second quarter valued at about $464,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,246 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $666,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 85.7% in the 2nd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 82,164 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $12,880,000 after acquiring an additional 37,921 shares during the period. Smith Salley Wealth Management boosted its stake in Valero Energy by 26.5% during the 2nd quarter. Smith Salley Wealth Management now owns 2,140 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $335,000 after acquiring an additional 448 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Capital Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Valero Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com lowered Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Valero Energy in a report on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $177.00 price target for the company. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Argus cut Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.00.

Valero Energy Stock Up 3.5 %

Shares of NYSE VLO opened at $146.73 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.27, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.48. Valero Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $119.88 and a 52 week high of $184.79. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $150.21 and its 200 day moving average is $155.51.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The oil and gas company reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.60 by $0.11. Valero Energy had a net margin of 4.25% and a return on equity of 21.01%. The business had revenue of $34.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $32.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.40 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 1st will be issued a $1.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 1st. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.92%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.20%.

Valero Energy 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.