Advisors Asset Management Inc. Has $9.91 Million Stock Holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 80,820 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 992 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $9,908,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kennondale Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Valero Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $714,000. RD Lewis Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in Valero Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $305,000. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. raised its position in Valero Energy by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. now owns 8,157 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,000,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Valero Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $61,000. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp raised its position in Valero Energy by 14.2% in the fourth quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 50,115 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $6,144,000 after purchasing an additional 6,228 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Valero Energy stock opened at $131.97 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market cap of $41.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.36. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $133.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $133.58. Valero Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $116.84 and a fifty-two week high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.50. Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.13% and a return on equity of 9.58%. Sell-side analysts predict that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 30th were issued a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 30th. This is a positive change from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is currently 53.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VLO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $149.00 to $144.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Tudor Pickering raised shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $156.08.

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.