Mawer Investment Management Ltd. Purchases 723,938 Shares of Valvoline (NYSE:VVV)

Mawer Investment Management Ltd. increased its position in Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) by 144.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,224,420 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 723,938 shares during the period. Mawer Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Valvoline were worth $42,622,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of VVV. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Valvoline by 13.8% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 9,411 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $341,000 after acquiring an additional 1,142 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in shares of Valvoline in the fourth quarter worth $930,000. LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Valvoline by 26.5% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 33,872 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,225,000 after acquiring an additional 7,097 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Valvoline by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,893,648 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $466,492,000 after acquiring an additional 101,834 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Valvoline in the fourth quarter worth $54,114,000. Institutional investors own 96.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Lori Ann Flees purchased 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $33.78 per share, with a total value of $101,340.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 46,614 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,574,620.92. This represents a 6.88% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

Valvoline Price Performance

Shares of Valvoline stock opened at $35.80 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $36.63 and a 200 day moving average of $35.98. Valvoline has a 12 month low of $31.01 and a 12 month high of $47.08. The firm has a market cap of $4.55 billion, a PE ratio of 17.38 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.23.

Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The basic materials company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.02). Valvoline had a net margin of 15.97% and a return on equity of 106.36%. The firm had revenue of $403.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $405.38 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.37 earnings per share. Valvoline’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Valvoline will post 1.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VVV has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup reduced their price target on Valvoline from $41.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Cfra Research upgraded Valvoline to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Valvoline from $44.00 to $42.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $44.00 price target (down previously from $45.00) on shares of Valvoline in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Valvoline from $41.00 to $39.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.54.

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.