Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV) Shares Sold by L. Roy Papp & Associates LLP

L. Roy Papp & Associates LLP decreased its holdings in Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 19,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 370 shares during the period. L. Roy Papp & Associates LLP’s holdings in Valvoline were worth $687,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in Valvoline by 92.1% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 630 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valvoline during the third quarter valued at about $41,000. ORG Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Valvoline by 466.7% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 1,275 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 1,050 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Valvoline by 83.0% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,332 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 604 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Valvoline by 46.5% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,465 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares in the last quarter. 96.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Valvoline from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Valvoline from $48.00 to $46.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Stephens began coverage on shares of Valvoline in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $49.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $38.00 price target (down from $42.00) on shares of Valvoline in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Valvoline from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Charles M. Sonsteby purchased 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $39.50 per share, for a total transaction of $395,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 26,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,044,261.50. This trade represents a 60.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Lori Ann Flees acquired 2,500 shares of Valvoline stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $39.64 per share, with a total value of $99,100.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 38,428 shares in the company, valued at $1,523,285.92. The trade was a 6.96 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.66% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Valvoline Stock Down 0.2 %

VVV opened at $40.10 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $37.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $39.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.19 and a beta of 1.45. Valvoline Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $33.90 and a fifty-two week high of $48.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.70.

Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.01. Valvoline had a return on equity of 143.64% and a net margin of 16.34%. On average, research analysts expect that Valvoline Inc. will post 1.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Valvoline Company Profile

Valvoline Inc engages in the operation and franchising of vehicle service centers and retail stores in the United States and Canada. The company, through its service centers, provides fluid exchange for motor oil, transmission and differential fluid, and coolant; parts replacement for batteries, filters, wiper blades, and belts; and safety services, such as tire inflation and rotation, bulbs, and safety checks.