Valvoline $VVV Shares Bought by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) by 5.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 286,562 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 13,938 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Valvoline were worth $9,651,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Valvoline during the 4th quarter valued at about $20,334,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its holdings in Valvoline by 6.7% in the 1st quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 2,881,998 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $97,066,000 after acquiring an additional 182,060 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Valvoline in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,651,000. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI lifted its stake in Valvoline by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI now owns 4,972,363 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $144,497,000 after purchasing an additional 220,642 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royce & Associates LP boosted its holdings in shares of Valvoline by 33.2% during the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,733,739 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $50,382,000 after purchasing an additional 431,687 shares during the last quarter. 96.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VVV has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Valvoline in a research report on Friday, May 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Valvoline in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. New Street Research set a $47.00 target price on Valvoline in a report on Monday, July 20th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Valvoline from $42.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Valvoline from $35.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Valvoline has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Richard Joseph Freeland purchased 3,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was bought at an average price of $32.37 per share, for a total transaction of $100,347.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 16,112 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $521,545.44. The trade was a 23.82% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Jennifer Lynn Slater purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $32.53 per share, with a total value of $32,530.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $32,530. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders purchased 14,100 shares of company stock worth $450,877 over the last 90 days. 0.66% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Valvoline Stock Up 1.5%

Valvoline stock opened at $38.89 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.28 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.61. Valvoline has a twelve month low of $28.50 and a twelve month high of $41.33. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $37.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $35.30.

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

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).