Wealthfront Advisers LLC Makes New $7.25 Million Investment in Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV)

Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 200,300 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,247,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of VVV. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Valvoline by 16.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 9,738,142 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $407,541,000 after acquiring an additional 1,398,310 shares during the period. Geneva Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valvoline in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,670,000. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Valvoline by 766.6% in the 4th quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 644,980 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $23,335,000 after purchasing an additional 570,550 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Valvoline in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $17,340,000. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Valvoline by 28.5% in the 4th quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,577,313 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $57,067,000 after purchasing an additional 349,778 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Valvoline

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on VVV. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Valvoline from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on Valvoline in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $42.00 target price on the stock. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Valvoline from $48.00 to $46.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. 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 report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Valvoline from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Valvoline currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.40.

Valvoline Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of VVV stock opened at $34.54 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $39.04. Valvoline Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $33.90 and a fifty-two week high of $48.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.52 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.39.

Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) last announced its earnings results 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Valvoline Inc. will post 1.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.