Benjamin Edwards Inc. Buys 2,721 Shares of Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Core Insights - Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its stake in Valero Energy Corporation by 17.3% during Q3, owning 18,440 shares valued at $3,140,000 after acquiring an additional 2,721 shares [2] - Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of Valero Energy's stock, with several firms adjusting their positions in the company during the third quarter [3] Institutional Activity - Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings by 2.0%, now owning 3,381 shares worth $576,000 after buying 65 additional shares [3] - Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings by 70.2%, now owning 160 shares valued at $27,000 after purchasing 66 shares [3] - Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its position by 17.0%, owning 476 shares worth $76,000 after acquiring 69 shares [3] - Sowell Financial Services LLC increased its stake by 0.6%, now owning 11,467 shares valued at $1,952,000 after purchasing 70 shares [3] Insider Activity - CFO Jason W. Fraser sold 9,933 shares at an average price of $174.02, totaling $1,728,540.66, resulting in a 6.89% decrease in his ownership [4] Analyst Ratings - Erste Group Bank initiated coverage with a "buy" rating [5] - Morgan Stanley downgraded from "overweight" to "equal weight" but raised the target price from $160.00 to $175.00 [5] - JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased the target price from $197.00 to $200.00 with an "overweight" rating [5] - Wells Fargo & Company raised the target price from $216.00 to $220.00, maintaining an "overweight" rating [5] - Jefferies Financial Group increased the target price from $181.00 to $194.00 with a "buy" rating [5] - The average rating is "Moderate Buy" with a consensus target price of $183.00 [5] Financial Performance - Valero Energy reported Q3 EPS of $3.66, exceeding the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.51 [7] - Revenue for the quarter was $32.17 billion, surpassing expectations of $28.80 billion, but down 2.2% year-over-year [7] - Analysts predict an EPS of 7.92 for the current fiscal year [7] Dividend Information - Valero Energy declared a quarterly dividend of $1.13, representing an annualized dividend of $4.52 and a yield of 2.4% [8] Company Overview - Valero Energy Corporation is an integrated downstream energy company based in San Antonio, Texas, focusing on refining crude oil into finished fuels and producing petrochemical feedstocks [9] - The company also has significant operations in renewable fuels, including ethanol and biofuels, and manages a logistics network for moving feedstocks and finished products [10]