Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT Cuts Holdings in Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV)

Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT decreased its stake in shares of Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV) by 7.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,712 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 594 shares during the quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT’s holdings in Valvoline were worth $279,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VVV. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Valvoline by 83.0% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,332 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 604 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in shares of Valvoline by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 199,152 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $8,335,000 after buying an additional 19,091 shares during the last quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Valvoline by 14.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,125 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $759,000 after buying an additional 2,221 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Valvoline by 21.3% in the 3rd quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 8,981 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $376,000 after buying an additional 1,575 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its position in shares of Valvoline by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 15,088 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $631,000 after buying an additional 1,015 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. 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. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Valvoline from $48.00 to $46.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on shares of Valvoline in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $42.00 price target on the stock. 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 research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Valvoline from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Valvoline has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.40.

Insider Activity

In other news, CTO Robert Travis Dobbins sold 1,914 shares of Valvoline stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total value of $76,560.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 14,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $598,240. The trade was a 11.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Lori Ann Flees acquired 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $39.64 per share, for a total transaction of $99,100.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 38,428 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,523,285.92. This represents a 6.96 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

Valvoline Trading Down 3.8 %

NYSE VVV opened at $36.50 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.70. The firm has a market cap of $4.64 billion, a PE ratio of 17.46 and a beta of 1.45. Valvoline Inc. has a one year low of $33.90 and a one year high of $48.26. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $37.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.45.

Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) last issued 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%. Analysts expect that Valvoline Inc. will post 1.63 earnings per share 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.