Patton Albertson & Miller increased its position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The hedge fund owned 4,403 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Patton Albertson & Miller’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $311,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Janus Capital Management boosted its position in Valero Energy by 52.8% in the third quarter. Janus Capital Management now owns 1,237,102 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,350,000 after buying an additional 427,217 shares during the period. Northcoast Asset Management bought a new position in Valero Energy during the third quarter worth $40,369,000. Meag Munich Ergo Kapitalanlagegesellschaft boosted its position in Valero Energy by 250.0% in the third quarter. Meag Munich Ergo Kapitalanlagegesellschaft now owns 249,616 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,942,000 after buying an additional 178,298 shares during the period. Eagle Asset Management boosted its position in Valero Energy by 83.5% in the third quarter. Eagle Asset Management now owns 147,432 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,860,000 after buying an additional 67,091 shares during the period. Finally, Fulton Bank boosted its position in Valero Energy by 18.6% in the fourth quarter. Fulton Bank now owns 19,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,375,000 after buying an additional 3,044 shares during the period.

Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) traded down 4.01% on Monday, hitting $65.14. 6,063,339 shares of the stock traded hands. The stock has a market cap of $31.37 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.85. The company’s 50 day moving average is $69.33 and its 200 day moving average is $66.11. Valero Energy Co. has a one year low of $50.50 and a one year high of $73.88.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The company reported $2.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.66 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $22.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.00 earnings per share. Valero Energy’s revenue was down 34.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post $8.73 EPS for the current year.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.68%. This is a boost from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 5th.

VLO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $81.00 price objective (down from $82.00) on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Friday, October 16th. Vetr upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $70.37 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Citigroup Inc. reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $74.00 price objective on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective (up from $90.00) on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Friday, January 15th. Finally, Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. The company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $77.91.

In related news, EVP R. Michael Crownover sold 17,104 shares of Valero Energy stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.98, for a total transaction of $1,248,249.92. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 134,747 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,833,836.06. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Valero Energy Corp (NYSE:VLO) is an international manufacturer and marketer of transportation fuels, other petrochemical products and power. The Company’s refineries can produce conventional gasolines, premium gasolines, gasoline, diesel fuel, low-sulfur diesel fuel, ultra-low-sulfur diesel fuel, CARB diesel fuel, other distillates, jet fuel, asphalt, petrochemicals, lubricants, and other refined products. The Company markets branded and unbranded refined products through approximately 7,400 outlets. The Company also owns 11 ethanol plants in the central plains region of the United States that primarily produce ethanol. The Company operates through two segments. The refining segment includes refining operations, wholesale marketing, product supply and distribution, and transportation operations in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Aruba and Ireland. Its ethanol segment primarily includes sale of internally produced ethanol and distillers grains.

12 Month Chart for NYSE:VLO

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