Summit Trail Advisors LLC Decreases Holdings in Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV)

Summit Trail Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV) by 20.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,851 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,011 shares during the quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC’s holdings in Valvoline were worth $284,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in VVV. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its stake in Valvoline by 16.8% in the third quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 9,738,142 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $407,541,000 after purchasing an additional 1,398,310 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Valvoline by 0.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,096,436 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $171,436,000 after buying an additional 16,916 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of Valvoline by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 3,656,672 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $153,032,000 after acquiring an additional 100,305 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Valvoline by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,226,769 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $93,215,000 after acquiring an additional 54,545 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Valvoline by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,625,842 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $68,041,000 after acquiring an additional 19,877 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Valvoline

In related news, CEO Lori Ann Flees purchased 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $39.64 per share, with a total value of $99,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 38,428 shares in the company, valued at $1,523,285.92. This trade represents a 6.96 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CTO Robert Travis Dobbins sold 1,914 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total value of $76,560.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 14,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $598,240. This trade represents a 11.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.66% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on VVV. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Valvoline from $48.00 to $46.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $38.00 target price (down from $42.00) on shares of Valvoline in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on shares of Valvoline in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $42.00 price target for the company. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Valvoline from $46.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Valvoline from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Valvoline presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.11.

Valvoline Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of VVV opened at $39.63 on Thursday. Valvoline Inc. has a 1-year low of $33.90 and a 1-year high of $48.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.39. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $37.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.96 and a beta of 1.45.

Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.01. Valvoline had a return on equity of 143.64% and a net margin of 16.34%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Valvoline Inc. will post 1.64 EPS for the current year.

About Valvoline

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.