Natixis Advisors LLC Buys 47,662 Shares of Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV)

Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV) by 11.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 470,651 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 47,662 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.37% of Valvoline worth $17,029,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other 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 valued at $407,541,000 after purchasing an additional 1,398,310 shares during the period. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC raised its stake 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 buying 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 $17,340,000. Geneva Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Valvoline by 56.3% in the 4th quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 1,220,453 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $44,156,000 after buying an additional 439,809 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its stake 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 buying an additional 349,778 shares in the last quarter. 96.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on VVV shares. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Valvoline from $46.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Valvoline from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Valvoline from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $38.00 target price (down previously from $42.00) on shares of Valvoline in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.40.

Valvoline Price Performance

Shares of VVV opened at $35.91 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.39. Valvoline Inc. has a 1 year low of $33.90 and a 1 year high of $48.27. The stock has a market cap of $4.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.18 and a beta of 1.48. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $36.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.84.

Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.01. Valvoline had a return on equity of 143.64% and a net margin of 16.34%. On average, equities analysts predict that Valvoline Inc. will post 1.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

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.