Bank of Nova Scotia Trims Stock Holdings in Veralto Co. (NYSE:VLTO)

Bank of Nova Scotia reduced its holdings in Veralto Co. (NYSE:VLTO - Free Report) by 26.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 105,269 shares of the company's stock after selling 38,431 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in Veralto were worth $10,727,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VLTO. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Veralto in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new position in Veralto in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Albion Financial Group UT lifted its holdings in shares of Veralto by 2,100.0% during the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 352 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Veralto during the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Veralto by 35.3% in the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 418 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.28% of the company's stock.

Veralto Stock Performance

NYSE:VLTO traded up $0.09 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $90.15. 512,728 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,507,940. The company has a current ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $96.46 and a 200 day moving average of $102.19. Veralto Co. has a twelve month low of $83.87 and a twelve month high of $115.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.99, a P/E/G ratio of 4.24 and a beta of 0.97.

Veralto (NYSE:VLTO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.05. Veralto had a net margin of 16.04% and a return on equity of 49.29%. On average, analysts forecast that Veralto Co. will post 3.66 EPS for the current year.

Veralto Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Veralto's payout ratio is 13.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on VLTO. Citigroup cut their price target on Veralto from $116.00 to $100.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Veralto from $110.00 to $102.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Veralto from $111.00 to $110.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $111.10.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Surekha Trivedi sold 590 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.35, for a total value of $59,206.50. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,470 shares in the company, valued at approximately $849,964.50. This trade represents a 6.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Melissa Aquino sold 463 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.60, for a total value of $46,114.80. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 20,761 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,067,795.60. This trade represents a 2.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 22,471 shares of company stock valued at $2,234,030. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company's stock.

About Veralto

Veralto Corporation provides water analytics, water treatment, marking and coding, and packaging and color services worldwide. It operates through two segments, Water Quality (WQ) and Product Quality & Innovation (PQI). The WQ segment offers precision instrumentation and water treatment technologies to measure, analyze, and treat water in residential, commercial, municipal, industrial, research, and natural resource applications through the Hach, Trojan Technologies, and ChemTreat brands.