Junto Capital Management LP Takes $81.69 Million Position in Valvoline $VVV

Key Points

• Junto Capital Management acquired 2.07 million Valvoline shares worth approximately $81.69 million, representing about 1.62% of the company and 1.4% of the fund’s portfolio. Institutional investors collectively own 96.13% of Valvoline.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with 12 Buy ratings and five Holds, producing a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $42.88.
• Valvoline exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $0.57 in EPS versus a $0.50 estimate and 24.1% year-over-year revenue growth to $544.6 million. Shares opened at $30.32, near the lower end of their 52-week range.

Junto Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Valvoline (NYSE:VVV - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 2,065,982 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $81,689,000. Valvoline comprises approximately 1.4% of Junto Capital Management LP's holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Junto Capital Management LP owned about 1.62% of Valvoline as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of VVV. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Valvoline in the 2nd quarter worth $501,851,000. Boston Partners lifted its position in Valvoline by 20.6% during the 4th 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 boosted its holdings in 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 during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in Valvoline by 4,032.9% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 5,803,444 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $229,468,000 after acquiring an additional 5,663,022 shares during the period. Finally, Fiduciary Management Inc. WI grew its position in shares of Valvoline by 4.6% in 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 purchasing an additional 220,642 shares during the last quarter. 96.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on VVV shares. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $44.00 price objective on shares of Valvoline in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Valvoline from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Zacks Research downgraded Valvoline from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Benchmark assumed coverage on Valvoline in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Valvoline from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $35.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Valvoline presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $42.88.

Insider Activity at Valvoline

In other Valvoline news, insider Jonathan L. Caldwell sold 2,851 shares of Valvoline stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total transaction of $114,040.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 20,918 shares in the company, valued at $836,720. The trade was a 11.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Jordan M. Denny purchased 1,506 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $33.20 per share, for a total transaction of $49,999.20. Following the acquisition, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,121 shares in the company, valued at approximately $136,817.20. This trade represents a 57.59% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.66% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Valvoline Stock Down 0.9%

VVV stock opened at $30.32 on Thursday. Valvoline has a twelve month low of $28.50 and a twelve month high of $41.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.77. The company has a market cap of $3.87 billion, a PE ratio of 37.90 and a beta of 0.99. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $35.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $35.38.

Valvoline (NYSE:VVV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.07. Valvoline had a return on equity of 65.12% and a net margin of 5.17%.The firm had revenue of $544.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $543.21 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.47 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 24.1% on a year-over-year basis. Valvoline has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.700-1.750 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Valvoline will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current 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).

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