6,682 Shares in Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV) Purchased by Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management purchased a new position in Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 6,682 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $251,000.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of VVV. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Valvoline by 29.1% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,040,237 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $130,257,000 after buying an additional 911,073 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in Valvoline by 260.3% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,225,486 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $39,510,000 after acquiring an additional 885,342 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Valvoline during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,165,000. Alua Capital Management LP boosted its position in Valvoline by 24.7% during the third quarter. Alua Capital Management LP now owns 2,935,539 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $94,642,000 after purchasing an additional 582,400 shares during the period. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC increased its stake in shares of Valvoline by 11.1% in the third quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 2,767,848 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $89,235,000 after purchasing an additional 276,506 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on VVV. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Valvoline from $36.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Valvoline from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $37.00 to $44.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Valvoline from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Mizuho began coverage on Valvoline in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $42.75.

Valvoline Trading Down 0.6 %

VVV stock opened at $41.94 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.44 billion, a PE ratio of 5.21 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 24.02, a quick ratio of 2.14 and a current ratio of 2.24. Valvoline Inc. has a one year low of $29.15 and a one year high of $45.37. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $43.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.42.

Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The basic materials company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.01. Valvoline had a net margin of 92.04% and a return on equity of 41.83%. The company had revenue of $388.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $390.75 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.23 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Valvoline Inc. will post 1.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.