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

Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 80,820 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring 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 institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kennondale Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $714,000. RD Lewis Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $305,000. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. now owns 8,157 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,000,000 after buying an additional 164 shares during the period. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $61,000. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 14.2% in the 4th quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 50,115 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $6,144,000 after buying an additional 6,228 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VLO has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Tudor Pickering raised shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $149.00 to $144.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given 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 Stock Down 0.7 %

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

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 anticipate that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

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

About Valero Energy

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.