Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Sells 7,348 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lowered its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 3.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 190,496 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 7,348 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $23,353,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of VLO. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $669,400,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Valero Energy by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,725,700 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,257,024,000 after buying an additional 4,805,133 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Valero Energy by 4,908.0% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,850,526 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $384,907,000 after acquiring an additional 2,793,607 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the fourth quarter worth $132,469,000. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 159.3% in the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 850,161 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $104,221,000 after purchasing an additional 522,233 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on VLO shares. 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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 upgraded Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price objective on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $152.67.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of Valero Energy stock opened at $132.19 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Valero Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $116.84 and a 12 month high of $184.79. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $133.31 and a 200 day moving average of $133.30. The firm has a market cap of $41.64 billion, a PE ratio of 15.59, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.36.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its 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%. On average, research analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 30th were given a dividend of $1.13 per share. This is a boost from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 30th. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.42%. Valero Energy’s 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.