Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Sells 6,402 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 34.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,046 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 6,402 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $2,056,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Morgan Stanley raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,961,603 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,269,949,000 after purchasing an additional 517,068 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $570,428,000. Putnam Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 3,445,821 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $447,957,000 after purchasing an additional 122,207 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,788,994 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $362,569,000 after purchasing an additional 342,218 shares during the period. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 18.7% during the 4th quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 2,389,654 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $310,655,000 after purchasing an additional 376,449 shares during the period. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kimberly S. Greene sold 720 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.12, for a total value of $113,846.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 13,314 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,105,209.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of VLO opened at $156.76 on Friday. Valero Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $112.16 and a 1-year high of $184.79. The company has a 50-day moving average of $157.35 and a 200 day moving average of $150.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.76, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.10.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.64. Valero Energy had a net margin of 5.01% and a return on equity of 24.82%. The company had revenue of $31.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $8.27 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 16.09 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 30th were issued a $1.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 30th. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.73%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.20%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on VLO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Bank of America raised shares of Valero Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $156.00 to $210.00 in a research note on Friday, March 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $130.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $184.00 to $179.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $172.00.

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.