Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Increases Stock Position in Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,642,754 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,912 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Valvoline were worth $59,435,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of VVV. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its position in Valvoline by 16.8% in the third 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. Geneva Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Valvoline in the third quarter valued at $32,670,000. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Valvoline by 766.6% in the fourth quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 644,980 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $23,335,000 after purchasing an additional 570,550 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in Valvoline in the fourth quarter valued at $17,340,000. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its stake in Valvoline by 28.5% in the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 349,778 shares during the period. 96.13% of the stock is 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 business’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 sale, the insider now owns 15,305 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $572,560.05. The trade was a 28.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.66% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on VVV. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Valvoline from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective 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. Robert W. Baird dropped 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus began 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. Four equities research 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Valvoline has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.40.

Valvoline Stock Down 1.3 %

VVV stock opened at $34.54 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $4.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.52 and a beta of 1.48. Valvoline Inc. has a 52 week low of $33.90 and a 52 week high of $48.26. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $36.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $39.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.39.

Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) last released its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, research analysts expect that Valvoline Inc. will post 1.63 earnings per share 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.