Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV) Shares Sold by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans reduced its holdings in Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV) by 15.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 57,160 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 10,788 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Valvoline were worth $2,068,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VVV. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its position in Valvoline by 16.8% in the third quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 9,738,142 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $407,541,000 after buying an additional 1,398,310 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Valvoline by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,096,436 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $171,436,000 after acquiring an additional 16,916 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Valvoline by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,226,769 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $93,215,000 after acquiring an additional 54,545 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Valvoline by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,642,754 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $59,435,000 after purchasing an additional 16,912 shares during the period. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Valvoline by 28.5% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. 96.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on VVV shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Valvoline from $46.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $38.00 price objective (down previously from $42.00) on shares of Valvoline in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Valvoline from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, 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 for the company. 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.40.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Julie Marie O’daniel sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $572,560.05. This represents a 28.16 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.66% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Valvoline Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VVV opened at $35.11 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.58. 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 firm has a market cap of $4.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.80 and a beta of 1.48.

Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.01. Valvoline had a net margin of 16.34% and a return on equity of 143.64%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict 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.