Putnam Investments LLC Acquires 99,111 Shares of Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV)

Putnam Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV) by 58.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 268,603 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 99,111 shares during the period. Putnam Investments LLC owned about 0.16% of Valvoline worth $9,385,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Belpointe Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Valvoline by 54.9% during the 1st quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 931 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares during the period. First Manhattan CO. LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Valvoline during the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valvoline during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Valvoline by 52.2% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,230 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 422 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in shares of Valvoline by 18.6% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,872 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Julie Marie O’daniel sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.16, for a total transaction of $68,320.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 14,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $486,096.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, SVP Robert Travis Dobbins sold 1,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.53, for a total transaction of $57,001.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 10,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $348,141.99. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Julie Marie O’daniel sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.16, for a total value of $68,320.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 14,230 shares in the company, valued at $486,096.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have bought 17,839 shares of company stock valued at $601,606 and have sold 15,438 shares valued at $522,502. Insiders own 0.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VVV has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Valvoline from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 22nd. TheStreet downgraded Valvoline from a “b” rating to a “c” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 9th. Citigroup cut their price target on Valvoline from $41.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 10th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Valvoline in a research note on Thursday, September 7th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $42.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Stephens started coverage on Valvoline in a research note on Friday, June 23rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $43.00 price target on the stock. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Valvoline currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $39.57.

Valvoline Stock Performance

Shares of VVV opened at $32.07 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $35.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $35.79. The company has a current ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.49. Valvoline Inc. has a 12 month low of $24.40 and a 12 month high of $39.67. The company has a market cap of $4.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 1.35.

Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 9th. The basic materials company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.06. Valvoline had a return on equity of 42.99% and a net margin of 110.05%. The business had revenue of $376.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $367.53 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.58 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Valvoline Inc. will post 1.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valvoline Profile

Valvoline Inc provides automotive services through retail stores in the United States and Canada. It offers cabin air filter, battery replacement, and tire rotation services for various vehicles. As of September 30, 2022, it operated 1,700 system-wide service center stores. The company was founded in 1866 and is headquartered in Lexington, Kentucky.