Sterling Capital Management LLC Sells 17,278 Shares of Valvoline $VVV

Sterling Capital Management LLC decreased its position in Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) by 33.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,215 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 17,278 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Valvoline were worth $1,152,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Valvoline by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,323,516 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $358,121,000 after buying an additional 94,813 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its stake in shares of Valvoline by 20.6% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,679,911 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $194,449,000 after acquiring an additional 1,142,290 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Valvoline by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,067,541 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $176,323,000 after acquiring an additional 610,014 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI increased its holdings in shares of Valvoline by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI now owns 4,972,363 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $144,497,000 after acquiring an additional 220,642 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP raised its position in shares of Valvoline by 28.3% in the 4th quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 4,281,095 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $124,409,000 after purchasing an additional 944,095 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VVV has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Valvoline in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Valvoline from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $35.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Valvoline from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Valvoline in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Valvoline from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $40.93.

Valvoline Stock Performance

VVV stock opened at $39.55 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.61, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.61. Valvoline has a 1 year low of $28.50 and a 1 year high of $41.33. The company has a market cap of $5.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.18 and a beta of 1.02. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $35.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.21.

Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The basic materials company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $503.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $495.67 million. Valvoline had a return on equity of 66.54% and a net margin of 5.03%.Valvoline’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.34 earnings per share. Valvoline has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.650-1.750 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Valvoline will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Valvoline

In related news, CFO J Kevin Willis bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $31.80 per share, for a total transaction of $318,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 32,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,040,655. This trade represents a 44.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jonathan L. Caldwell sold 2,851 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total value of $114,040.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 20,918 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $836,720. This represents a 11.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders bought 14,100 shares of company stock worth $450,877 over the last 90 days. 0.66% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Valvoline 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).