Proficio Capital Partners LLC Acquires New Position in Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 17,475 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $632,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Valvoline in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. ORG Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Valvoline by 466.7% in the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 1,275 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 1,050 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Valvoline by 90.5% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,538 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $92,000 after purchasing an additional 1,206 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Valvoline in the third quarter worth approximately $97,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Valvoline during the 4th quarter valued at $136,000. 96.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on VVV. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $38.00 target price (down from $42.00) on shares of Valvoline in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Valvoline from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Valvoline from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on shares of Valvoline in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $42.00 price target for the company. Finally, Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Valvoline from $46.00 to $42.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $44.40.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Valvoline

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

Valvoline Stock Down 3.1 %

Shares of VVV stock traded down $1.13 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $34.80. The company's stock had a trading volume of 716,571 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,272,888. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.70. Valvoline Inc. has a 52-week low of $33.90 and a 52-week high of $48.27. The stock has a market cap of $4.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.65 and a beta of 1.48. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $36.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.69.

Valvoline (NYSE:VVV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.32 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%. Research analysts predict that Valvoline Inc. will post 1.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Valvoline

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.