Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV) Shares Purchased by Mariner LLC

Mariner LLC grew its position in shares of Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 16,793 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 602 shares during the period. Mariner LLC’s holdings in Valvoline were worth $608,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC boosted its position in Valvoline by 271.0% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 198,785 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $7,192,000 after purchasing an additional 145,205 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Valvoline by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 114,664 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,149,000 after buying an additional 2,372 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its stake in shares of Valvoline by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 56,792 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,055,000 after buying an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Valvoline by 16.9% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 91,327 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,304,000 after buying an additional 13,205 shares during the period. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC lifted its position in Valvoline by 80.2% during the 4th quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 8,980 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $325,000 after acquiring an additional 3,997 shares in the last quarter. 96.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 stock was sold at an average price of $37.41, for a total transaction of $224,460.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,305 shares in the company, valued at $572,560.05. This represents a 28.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.66% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VVV has been the subject of several recent research reports. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Valvoline in a research report on Friday, April 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $40.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target 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. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Valvoline from $46.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Valvoline from $44.00 to $42.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Valvoline from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Valvoline currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $42.67.

Valvoline Price Performance

Shares of VVV opened at $34.25 on Thursday. 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 firm has a market cap of $4.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.39 and a beta of 1.32. Valvoline Inc. has a 52 week low of $31.02 and a 52 week high of $48.27. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $34.76 and a 200-day moving average of $37.38.

Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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, analysts forecast that Valvoline Inc. will post 1.63 EPS for the current 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.