Fmr LLC Trims Position in Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV)

Fmr LLC lowered its stake in shares of Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV) by 31.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,495,402 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,057,492 shares during the quarter. Fmr LLC owned about 3.49% of Valvoline worth $188,133,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Valvoline by 57.9% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 728 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. MAI Capital Management boosted its holdings in shares of Valvoline by 2.4% in the third quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 11,624 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $486,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of Valvoline by 92.1% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 630 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D raised its holdings in Valvoline by 0.7% during the third quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 47,602 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,992,000 after purchasing an additional 313 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Valvoline by 6.1% in the second quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 6,292 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 359 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on VVV. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Valvoline from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Valvoline from $52.00 to $46.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Valvoline to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Valvoline from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Valvoline from $46.00 to $42.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $46.25.

Valvoline Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of VVV opened at $39.44 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.78. The stock has a market cap of $5.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.35 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.77, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.61. Valvoline Inc. has a 1-year low of $33.86 and a 1-year high of $48.26.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Valvoline news, CEO Lori Ann Flees acquired 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $39.64 per share, with a total value of $99,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 38,428 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,523,285.92. This trade represents a 6.96 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Charles M. Sonsteby bought 10,000 shares of Valvoline stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $39.50 per share, for a total transaction of $395,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 26,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,044,261.50. This trade represents a 60.84 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.