Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 138,433 Shares of Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System decreased its position in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 88.8% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 17,542 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 138,433 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $6,799,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 11.4% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,033,310 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,243,630,000 after acquiring an additional 516,975 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,969,320 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $733,660,000 after purchasing an additional 254,604 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 18.4% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,842,339 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $702,285,000 after purchasing an additional 442,177 shares during the period. Amundi boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 45.3% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 2,584,976 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $638,695,000 after purchasing an additional 806,018 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 33.9% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,058,341 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $536,074,000 after purchasing an additional 520,642 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Zacks Research raised Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Freedom Broker lowered Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $276.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. TD Cowen increased their price target on Valero Energy from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Valero Energy from $411.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, November 2nd. Finally, Evercore reduced their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $385.00 to $325.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $406.32.

Valero Energy Trading Up 3.1%

VLO opened at $374.96 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $399.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $293.11. Valero Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $159.90 and a 1-year high of $461.52. The company has a market cap of $104.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The oil and gas company reported $23.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $21.17 by $2.73. The company had revenue of $46.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $42.71 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 45.90%. The business’s revenue was up 43.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.66 EPS. Analysts predict that Valero Energy Corporation will post 58.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 24th will be paid a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 24th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 10.80%.

Valero Energy Company Profile

Valero Energy Corporation is an international refiner and producer of transportation fuels and other petroleum products, headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. Its refining business processes crude oil and other feedstocks into products such as gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, asphalt and petrochemical feedstocks. The company markets and distributes fuels to wholesale customers and through branded distribution networks. Its refining operations span the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, with products serving customers in North America and other markets.