3,000 Shares in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) Acquired by Grimes & Company Inc.

Grimes & Company Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 3,000 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $202,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Blue Granite Capital LLC raised its stake in Valero Energy Corporation by 17.6% in the second quarter. Blue Granite Capital LLC now owns 20,000 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,349,000 after buying an additional 3,000 shares in the last quarter. Canal Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Valero Energy Corporation by 10.4% in the second quarter. Canal Capital Management LLC now owns 23,923 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,614,000 after buying an additional 2,245 shares in the last quarter. Exane Derivatives raised its stake in Valero Energy Corporation by 41.0% in the second quarter. Exane Derivatives now owns 6,169 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $416,000 after buying an additional 1,794 shares in the last quarter. V Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Valero Energy Corporation during the second quarter valued at $281,000. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co raised its stake in Valero Energy Corporation by 9.3% in the second quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 35,465 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,392,000 after buying an additional 3,014 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.18% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Corporation (VLO) traded down 1.33% during trading on Friday, hitting $66.69. The stock had a trading volume of 7,105,643 shares. Valero Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $51.16 and a 52-week high of $71.40. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $66.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $66.06. The company has a market cap of $29.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.48 and a beta of 1.22.

Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The oil and gas company reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.15. Valero Energy Corporation had a return on equity of 8.58% and a net margin of 2.17%. The firm had revenue of $22.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.32 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.07 EPS. Valero Energy Corporation’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Valero Energy Corporation will post $4.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 9th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 7th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.20%. Valero Energy Corporation’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.14%.

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Several research firms recently weighed in on VLO. Scotiabank set a $70.00 price target on Valero Energy Corporation and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. BidaskClub downgraded Valero Energy Corporation from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 24th. Citigroup Inc. dropped their target price on Valero Energy Corporation from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 17th. Standpoint Research initiated coverage on Valero Energy Corporation in a report on Friday, June 30th. They issued an “accumulate” rating and a $84.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Group LLC raised Valero Energy Corporation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $65.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday, June 22nd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. The company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $71.59.

In related news, Director Susan Kaufman Purcell sold 5,151 shares of Valero Energy Corporation stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.68, for a total value of $333,166.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 9,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $638,132.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.45% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Valero Energy Corporation

Valero Energy Corporation (Valero) is an independent petroleum refiner and ethanol producer. The Company’s segments include refining, ethanol and Valero Energy Partners LP (VLP). The refining segment includes its refining operations and the associated marketing activities. The ethanol segment includes its ethanol operations and the associated marketing activities, and logistics assets that support its ethanol operations.