State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Raises Stock Position in Valvoline $VVV

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D boosted its holdings in Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) by 4.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 55,071 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 2,560 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Valvoline were worth $2,086,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Ethic Inc. increased its stake in Valvoline by 14.6% in the 2nd quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 15,288 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $584,000 after buying an additional 1,950 shares in the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Valvoline in the 2nd quarter worth $79,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new stake in Valvoline in the 2nd quarter worth $670,000. VELA Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Valvoline by 81.1% in the 2nd quarter. VELA Investment Management LLC now owns 208,970 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $7,914,000 after buying an additional 93,578 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in shares of Valvoline during the second quarter valued at about $1,744,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.13% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on VVV shares. Zacks Research upgraded Valvoline to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Stephens raised their price objective on Valvoline from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Valvoline from $44.00 to $42.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Cfra Research upgraded Valvoline to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Valvoline from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 8th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Valvoline presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $42.62.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO J Kevin Willis purchased 12,725 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was bought at an average price of $39.41 per share, for a total transaction of $501,492.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 12,725 shares in the company, valued at approximately $501,492.25. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

Valvoline Trading Down 3.1%

VVV opened at $32.67 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $4.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.19 and a beta of 1.18. Valvoline has a 12 month low of $31.01 and a 12 month high of $43.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $37.04 and a 200 day moving average of $36.47.

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

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.