HighTower Advisors LLC Has $18.03 Million Holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

HighTower Advisors LLC lessened its position in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 18.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 147,055 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 32,191 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $18,027,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Valero Energy by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,784 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,169,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Segment Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Valero Energy by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,947 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $606,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Silver Coast Investments LLC increased its position in Valero Energy by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Silver Coast Investments LLC now owns 5,070 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $622,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. increased its position in Valero Energy by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 4,687 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $575,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators grew its position in shares of Valero Energy by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,514 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $186,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Price Performance

VLO opened at $129.20 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $40.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.36. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $133.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $133.79. Valero Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $116.84 and a 1 year high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 earnings per share 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 issued a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.50%. This is an increase from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 30th. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is currently 53.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on VLO shares. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $149.00 to $144.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note 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 for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $156.08.

Valero Energy Company 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.