Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV) Stock Holdings Trimmed by Blueshift Asset Management LLC

Blueshift Asset Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV) by 44.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,763 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 10,250 shares during the period. Blueshift Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Valvoline were worth $462,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VVV. Xponance Inc. raised its stake in shares of Valvoline by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 27,867 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,008,000 after buying an additional 1,577 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP raised its stake in shares of Valvoline by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,262,293 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $45,670,000 after buying an additional 11,111 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Valvoline by 11.3% in the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 470,651 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $17,029,000 after buying an additional 47,662 shares in the last quarter. Hilton Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Valvoline by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Hilton Capital Management LLC now owns 46,160 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,670,000 after buying an additional 2,002 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in shares of Valvoline in the 4th quarter worth $77,000. Institutional investors own 96.13% of the company’s stock.

Valvoline Stock Performance

Shares of VVV stock opened at $35.64 on Friday. Valvoline Inc. has a 1-year low of $33.90 and a 1-year high of $48.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.39. The company has a market capitalization of $4.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.05 and a beta of 1.48. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $36.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.80.

Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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, sell-side analysts predict that Valvoline Inc. will post 1.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Valvoline news, insider Julie Marie O’daniel sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.41, for a total value of $224,460.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 15,305 shares in the company, valued at $572,560.05. The trade was a 28.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.66% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Valvoline from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Valvoline from $46.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Valvoline from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $38.00 target price (down from $42.00) on shares of Valvoline in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on Valvoline in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $42.00 target price on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Valvoline has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.40.

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.