1620 Investment Advisors Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV)

1620 Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV) by 560.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,556 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,169 shares during the period. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Valvoline were worth $92,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Valvoline by 16.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 9,738,142 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $407,541,000 after acquiring an additional 1,398,310 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Valvoline by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,096,436 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $171,436,000 after acquiring an additional 16,916 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted 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 valued at $93,215,000 after acquiring an additional 54,545 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Valvoline by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,642,754 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $59,435,000 after acquiring an additional 16,912 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Valvoline by 28.5% in the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 349,778 shares during the last quarter. 96.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Valvoline Stock Performance

NYSE:VVV opened at $35.28 on Friday. 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $36.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.48 billion, a PE ratio of 16.88 and a beta of 1.48. Valvoline Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $33.90 and a fifty-two week high of $48.27.

Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, research analysts forecast that Valvoline Inc. will post 1.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Julie Marie O’daniel sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.41, for a total value of $224,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,305 shares in the company, valued at $572,560.05. This represents a 28.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Valvoline from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Valvoline from $46.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on shares of Valvoline in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $42.00 target price for the company. 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, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $38.00 target price (down from $42.00) on shares of Valvoline in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.40.

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.