Moody National Bank Trust Division Sells 623 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Moody National Bank Trust Division trimmed its holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO – Get Rating) by 3.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,172 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 623 shares during the quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $1,924,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of VLO. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its holdings in Valero Energy by 2,470.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 257 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. HighMark Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Valero Energy by 60.6% in the third quarter. HighMark Wealth Management LLC now owns 265 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Valero Energy in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Independence Bank of Kentucky boosted its position in Valero Energy by 150.0% in the fourth quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 250 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ronald Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Valero Energy by 56.3% in the third quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 322 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. 79.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Valero Energy Price Performance

VLO traded down $0.80 on Friday, hitting $126.37. 13,800,928 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,910,974. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $135.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $126.22. The firm has a market cap of $46.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.65. Valero Energy Co. has a one year low of $88.16 and a one year high of $150.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 26th. The oil and gas company reported $8.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.45 by $1.00. The company had revenue of $41.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $43.31 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 50.15% and a net margin of 6.54%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.47 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Co. will post 24.37 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 14th were paid a $1.02 dividend. This is an increase from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 13th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.23%. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is presently 14.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VLO has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group initiated coverage on Valero Energy in a research report on Wednesday, March 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $176.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Valero Energy from $111.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 19th. Mizuho raised their target price on Valero Energy from $157.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Friday, March 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Valero Energy from $140.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Friday, January 27th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price objective on Valero Energy from $169.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $151.38.

About Valero Energy

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Valero Energy Corp. engages in the manufacture and marketing of transportation fuels and other petrochemical products. It operates through the following business segments: Refining, Ethanol and Renewable Diesel. The Refining segment consists of refining operations, associated marketing activities, and logistics assets that support its refining operations.