American Century Companies Inc. Sells 4,727 Shares of Valvoline $VVV

American Century Companies Inc. reduced its stake in Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) by 11.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,081 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 4,727 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Valvoline were worth $1,291,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Valvoline in the first quarter valued at about $35,000. American National Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Valvoline in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in Valvoline by 221.8% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,181 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 814 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Valvoline by 50.8% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,440 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Valvoline by 145.4% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,531 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 907 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Valvoline news, CFO J Kevin Willis bought 12,725 shares of Valvoline stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $39.41 per share, for a total transaction of $501,492.25. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 12,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $501,492.25. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.66% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on VVV. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Valvoline from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Valvoline to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Stephens raised their price objective on Valvoline from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Valvoline from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Zacks Research raised Valvoline to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Valvoline currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.31.

Valvoline Stock Performance

Shares of VVV opened at $38.43 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $4.88 billion, a PE ratio of 17.87 and a beta of 1.21. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $37.94 and a 200-day moving average of $36.11. Valvoline has a one year low of $31.01 and a one year high of $43.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.60.

Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.01. Valvoline had a net margin of 16.43% and a return on equity of 84.85%. The business had revenue of $439.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $436.35 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.45 EPS. Valvoline’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Valvoline will post 1.63 earnings per share for the current 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.