Brown Advisory Inc. Has $2.20 Million Stock Holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Brown Advisory Inc. decreased its position in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO – Free Report) by 4.2% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 15,781 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 692 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $2,203,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of VLO. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $534,892,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 8.3% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,635,050 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $775,264,000 after acquiring an additional 587,056 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 65.7% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,374,688 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $139,586,000 after acquiring an additional 545,185 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Valero Energy by 1,820.9% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 477,854 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $66,708,000 after purchasing an additional 452,978 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Valero Energy by 31.4% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,735,560 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $220,173,000 after buying an additional 414,272 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VLO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $160.00 price objective on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Wednesday, July 19th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Valero Energy from $157.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Monday, July 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Valero Energy from $159.00 to $151.00 in a research note on Friday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Valero Energy from $172.00 to $171.00 in a research note on Friday, July 7th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Valero Energy from $139.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $151.88.

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Valero Energy Trading Down 1.8 %

NYSE VLO opened at $136.50 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $48.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.66. Valero Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $97.73 and a 52 week high of $150.39. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $119.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $123.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 27th. The oil and gas company reported $5.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.08 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $34.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.37 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 42.31% and a net margin of 6.96%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 33.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $11.36 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 23.01 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 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 3rd will be given a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 2nd. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.99%. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is 14.05%.

About Valero Energy

(Free Report)

Valero Energy Corporation manufactures, markets, and sells transportation fuels and petrochemical products in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Latin America, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Refining, Renewable Diesel, and Ethanol. The company produces California Reformulated Gasoline Blendstock for Oxygenate Blending and Conventional Blendstock for Oxygenate Blending gasolines, CARB diesel, diesel, jet fuel, and asphalt; aromatics; and sulfur crude oils.