Machina Capital S.A.S. Has $364,000 Stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Machina Capital S.A.S. raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 34.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,971 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 754 shares during the quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $364,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 0.9% during the third quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,784 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,169,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Valero Energy by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,947 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $606,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Silver Coast Investments LLC grew its position in Valero Energy by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Silver Coast Investments LLC now owns 5,070 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $622,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. raised its position in Valero Energy by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 4,687 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $575,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,514 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $186,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of Valero Energy stock opened at $127.00 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $40.21 billion, a PE ratio of 14.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.36. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $132.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $134.40. 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 12-month low of $116.84 and a 12-month high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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, equities analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, January 30th were paid a $1.13 dividend. This is a positive change from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 30th. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.56%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on VLO. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $149.00 to $144.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Barclays lowered their price objective on Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Mizuho reduced their target price on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Tudor Pickering raised shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $156.08.

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.