Headlands Technologies LLC Invests $73,000 in Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV)

Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,015 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $73,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. grew its position in shares of Valvoline by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 500,482 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $18,107,000 after buying an additional 62,493 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in Valvoline by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 88,444 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,200,000 after purchasing an additional 6,097 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its position in Valvoline by 26.1% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 21,434 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $775,000 after purchasing an additional 4,438 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Valvoline during the 4th quarter worth approximately $54,114,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Valvoline by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,893,648 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $466,492,000 after purchasing an additional 101,834 shares during the period. 96.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Valvoline 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 transaction 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.66% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VVV has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Valvoline from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. TD Securities began coverage on Valvoline in a research note on Friday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $40.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $38.00 target price (down previously from $42.00) on shares of Valvoline in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Valvoline from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Valvoline from $46.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.67.

Valvoline Stock Performance

VVV opened at $34.57 on Monday. Valvoline Inc. has a 1-year low of $32.99 and a 1-year high of $48.27. The company has a market cap of $4.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.54 and a beta of 1.32. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $36.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.37. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.01. Valvoline had a net margin of 16.34% and a return on equity of 143.64%. On average, analysts expect that Valvoline Inc. will post 1.63 EPS for the current fiscal 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.