Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Increases Stock Holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 14.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 403,073 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 51,991 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.12% of Valero Energy worth $68,801,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $570,428,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Valero Energy by 12,883.3% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,047,360 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $136,157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,039,293 shares during the last quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. lifted its position in Valero Energy by 18.7% during the fourth quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 2,389,654 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $310,655,000 after purchasing an additional 376,449 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Valero Energy by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,788,994 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $362,569,000 after purchasing an additional 342,218 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its position in Valero Energy by 721.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 337,911 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $43,927,000 after purchasing an additional 296,771 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on VLO shares. Piper Sandler dropped their target price 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. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Thursday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $177.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com lowered shares of Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Mizuho upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $165.00 to $175.00 in a report on Wednesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $130.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.75.

Insider Transactions at Valero Energy

In other news, Director Kimberly S. Greene sold 720 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 13,314 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,105,209.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Trading Down 1.5 %

Valero Energy stock traded down $2.27 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $147.78. 2,316,343 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,090,425. 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’s 50 day moving average price is $154.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $152.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.42. Valero Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $115.50 and a 52-week high of $184.79.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.64. The business had revenue of $31.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $32.02 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 5.01% and a return on equity of 24.82%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $8.27 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Co. will post 14.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 1st will be given a $1.07 dividend. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.90%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.