Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Decreases Position in Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC reduced its stake in Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV) by 7.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 22,785 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,929 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in Valvoline were worth $824,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its holdings in shares of Valvoline by 26.1% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 21,434 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $775,000 after purchasing an additional 4,438 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Valvoline in the 4th quarter valued at about $54,114,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Valvoline by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,893,648 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $466,492,000 after buying an additional 101,834 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC increased its position in Valvoline by 26.5% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 33,872 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,225,000 after buying an additional 7,097 shares during the period. Finally, Fox Run Management L.L.C. lifted its stake in Valvoline by 767.0% in the fourth quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. now owns 56,340 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,038,000 after buying an additional 49,842 shares during the last quarter. 96.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Valvoline

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

Valvoline Stock Up 0.3 %

Valvoline stock opened at $34.57 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $36.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.37. Valvoline Inc. has a 1-year low of $32.99 and a 1-year high of $48.27. The company has a market cap of $4.39 billion, a PE ratio of 16.54 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.39, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.58.

Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) last issued 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Valvoline Inc. will post 1.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on VVV. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Valvoline in a research report on Friday. They set a “buy” rating and a $40.00 target price on the stock. TD Securities began coverage on shares of Valvoline in a research note on Friday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $40.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Valvoline from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Valvoline from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price objective on Valvoline from $46.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.67.

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.