KCM Investment Advisors LLC Purchases 99 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

KCM Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,497 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 99 shares during the period. KCM Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $674,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the fourth quarter worth $669,400,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Valero Energy by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,725,700 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,257,024,000 after buying an additional 4,805,133 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 4,908.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,850,526 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $384,907,000 after acquiring an additional 2,793,607 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $132,469,000. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 159.3% in the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 850,161 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $104,221,000 after acquiring an additional 522,233 shares during the period. 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. Tudor Pickering raised Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price target 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $152.67.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of Valero Energy stock opened at $104.64 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Valero Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $102.60 and a 52 week high of $183.38. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $131.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $132.95. The company has a market capitalization of $32.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.34, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.36.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.50. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 2.13%. As a group, analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, January 30th were paid a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.32%. This is a boost from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 30th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.30%.

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.