Valvoline $VVV Shares Sold by South Dakota Investment Council

South Dakota Investment Council cut its stake in shares of Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) by 19.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 81,755 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 19,800 shares during the quarter. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Valvoline were worth $2,936,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Boston Partners increased its stake in Valvoline by 67.3% in the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,977,293 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $150,604,000 after buying an additional 1,599,973 shares during the period. Cooke & Bieler LP boosted its holdings in shares of Valvoline by 14.4% in the third quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 3,337,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $119,832,000 after acquiring an additional 419,094 shares in the last quarter. Sculptor Capital LP increased its stake in shares of Valvoline by 47.5% during the second quarter. Sculptor Capital LP now owns 3,000,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $113,610,000 after acquiring an additional 966,500 shares during the period. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in Valvoline by 118.8% in the second quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 2,678,878 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $101,449,000 after purchasing an additional 1,454,458 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Valvoline by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,324,020 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $88,024,000 after purchasing an additional 11,060 shares in the last quarter. 96.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Valvoline Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of NYSE VVV opened at $36.96 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $4.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.17 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.31, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.70. Valvoline has a 1 year low of $28.50 and a 1 year high of $41.33. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $34.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $34.41.

Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.03. Valvoline had a return on equity of 69.71% and a net margin of 4.91%.The company had revenue of $461.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $466.87 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.32 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Valvoline has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.600-1.700 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Valvoline will post 1.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Valvoline

In other Valvoline news, insider Julie Marie O’daniel sold 4,312 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.55, for a total value of $166,227.60. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 17,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $693,090.45. This trade represents a 19.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on VVV shares. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Valvoline from $50.00 to $41.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of Valvoline from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $43.00 target price on shares of Valvoline in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Valvoline from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $30.00 to $35.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Valvoline from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $40.25.

Valvoline Company Profile

Valvoline (NYSE: VVV) is a leading global producer and distributor of automotive and industrial lubricants. The company’s portfolio spans engine oils, gear oils, transmission fluids, greases, coolants and driveline products, all designed to help improve vehicle performance and longevity. Valvoline’s products are marketed under the Valvoline®, Valvoline NextGen® and Valvoline™ SynPower® brand names and are formulated to meet the stringent requirements of passenger cars, light trucks, heavy‐duty vehicles and off‐road applications.

In addition to its core lubricant business, Valvoline operates one of North America’s largest quick‐lubricant service networks through Valvoline Instant Oil Change℠ (VIOC).