Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV) Shares Bought by Gotham Asset Management LLC

Gotham Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV) by 17.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 98,211 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 14,720 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Valvoline were worth $3,553,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in VVV. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Valvoline by 52.4% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 53,580 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,242,000 after buying an additional 18,414 shares during the period. Oak Thistle LLC boosted its position in Valvoline by 314.7% during the 4th quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 20,117 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $728,000 after acquiring an additional 15,266 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in Valvoline during the 4th quarter valued at about $17,340,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its stake in Valvoline by 24.9% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 8,805 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $319,000 after acquiring an additional 1,753 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sendero Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Valvoline by 34.8% in the 4th quarter. Sendero Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,780 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $752,000 after purchasing an additional 5,363 shares during the period. 96.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on VVV. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Valvoline from $44.00 to $42.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Valvoline from $41.00 to $39.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 9th. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Valvoline in a research note on Friday, April 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $40.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Valvoline from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, TD Securities started coverage on Valvoline in a research report on Friday, April 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $40.00 price objective for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.33.

Valvoline Trading Up 0.0%

Valvoline stock opened at $34.90 on Thursday. Valvoline Inc. has a one year low of $31.02 and a one year high of $48.27. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $34.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.39, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The company has a market capitalization of $4.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.70 and a beta of 1.20.

Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The basic materials company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.02). Valvoline had a return on equity of 143.64% and a net margin of 16.34%. The company had revenue of $403.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $405.38 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.37 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Valvoline Inc. will post 1.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Valvoline news, insider Julie Marie O’daniel sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.41, for a total transaction of $224,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,305 shares in the company, valued at $572,560.05. This represents a 28.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

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.