MetLife Investment Management LLC Sells 1,358 Shares of Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV)

MetLife Investment Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV) by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 72,487 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,358 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Valvoline were worth $3,034,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Valvoline by 28.8% during the 2nd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 126,232 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,453,000 after buying an additional 28,254 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Valvoline by 6.4% during the 2nd quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,130,920 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $48,857,000 after buying an additional 68,340 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Valvoline by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 422,989 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $17,702,000 after buying an additional 31,661 shares in the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lifted its position in shares of Valvoline by 22.8% during the 2nd quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 139,352 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,020,000 after buying an additional 25,885 shares in the last quarter. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in shares of Valvoline during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,628,000. Institutional investors own 96.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Valvoline from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Valvoline to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Valvoline from $52.00 to $46.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Valvoline in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $49.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Valvoline from $46.00 to $42.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Valvoline presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $46.25.

Valvoline Stock Down 0.7 %

Valvoline stock opened at $39.15 on Wednesday. Valvoline Inc. has a 1-year low of $33.86 and a 1-year high of $48.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.17 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.77. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.76.

Insider Activity at Valvoline

In other news, Director Charles M. Sonsteby purchased 10,000 shares of Valvoline stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $39.50 per share, for a total transaction of $395,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 26,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,044,261.50. This trade represents a 60.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Lori Ann Flees purchased 2,500 shares of Valvoline stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $39.64 per share, with a total value of $99,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 38,428 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,523,285.92. This represents a 6.96 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.