Bessemer Group Inc. Acquires 13,205 Shares of Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV)

Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV) by 16.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 91,327 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,205 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. owned about 0.07% of Valvoline worth $3,304,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Valvoline during the 4th quarter worth about $54,114,000. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Valvoline by 766.6% in the fourth quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 644,980 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $23,335,000 after buying an additional 570,550 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in shares of Valvoline in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $17,340,000. Geneva Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Valvoline by 56.3% during the fourth quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 1,220,453 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $44,156,000 after acquiring an additional 439,809 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its holdings in Valvoline by 28.5% during the 4th quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,577,313 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $57,067,000 after acquiring an additional 349,778 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Valvoline

In related news, insider Julie Marie O’daniel sold 6,000 shares of Valvoline stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.41, for a total value of $224,460.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,305 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $572,560.05. The trade was a 28.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.66% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VVV has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on shares of Valvoline in a report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $42.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Valvoline from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $38.00 target price (down from $42.00) on shares of Valvoline in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. TD Cowen started coverage on Valvoline in a research report on Friday, April 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $40.00 price target for the company. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Valvoline from $46.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Valvoline presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.67.

Valvoline Stock Up 3.8 %

Shares of NYSE VVV opened at $34.00 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.27 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.39, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.58. Valvoline Inc. has a one year low of $31.02 and a one year high of $48.27. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $36.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $37.99.

Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) last issued its 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%. As a group, analysts expect 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.