Congress Asset Management Co. Sells 238,799 Shares of Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV)

Congress Asset Management Co. trimmed its holdings in shares of Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV - Free Report) by 6.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,417,873 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 238,799 shares during the quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. owned about 2.66% of Valvoline worth $123,659,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Wasatch Advisors LP increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 1,398,310 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 16,916 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 54,545 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Valvoline by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,625,842 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $68,041,000 after buying an additional 19,877 shares during the period. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 349,778 shares during the period. 96.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on VVV shares. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Valvoline from $46.00 to $42.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on shares of Valvoline in a report on Friday, December 20th. They set a "hold" rating and a $42.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Valvoline from $48.00 to $46.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Valvoline from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Valvoline from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Valvoline has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $44.40.

Valvoline Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE VVV traded down $0.09 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $38.06. The stock had a trading volume of 1,664,896 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,733,700. The firm has a market cap of $4.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.21 and a beta of 1.45. Valvoline Inc. has a twelve month low of $33.90 and a twelve month high of $48.26. 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's 50 day moving average price is $37.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $39.54.

Valvoline (NYSE:VVV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) 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, sell-side analysts expect that Valvoline Inc. will post 1.63 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Valvoline

In other news, CTO Robert Travis Dobbins sold 1,914 shares of Valvoline stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total value of $76,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 14,956 shares in the company, valued at $598,240. The trade was a 11.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Charles M. Sonsteby acquired 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was bought at an average price of $39.50 per share, with a total value of $395,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 26,437 shares in the company, valued at $1,044,261.50. This represents a 60.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.66% of the company's stock.

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.