Federated Hermes Inc. Acquires 417,497 Shares of Veralto Co. (NYSE:VLTO)

Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in shares of Veralto Co. (NYSE:VLTO - Free Report) by 15.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,036,708 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 417,497 shares during the quarter. Veralto makes up approximately 0.7% of Federated Hermes Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Federated Hermes Inc. owned 1.23% of Veralto worth $309,291,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Veralto by 34.6% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,923,747 shares of the company's stock valued at $400,928,000 after acquiring an additional 1,009,170 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its position in Veralto by 18.4% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 17,228 shares of the company's stock worth $1,755,000 after purchasing an additional 2,676 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank lifted its position in Veralto by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 53,622 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,461,000 after purchasing an additional 3,284 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Veralto by 15.5% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 14,115 shares of the company's stock worth $1,438,000 after purchasing an additional 1,889 shares during the period. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Veralto in the 3rd quarter worth about $576,000. 91.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Veralto Stock Performance

Shares of VLTO traded up $0.78 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $89.48. 701,760 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,509,207. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.69. Veralto Co. has a twelve month low of $83.87 and a twelve month high of $115.00. The business's 50-day moving average price is $96.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $102.63. The company has a market capitalization of $22.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.71, a PEG ratio of 4.24 and a beta of 0.97.

Veralto (NYSE:VLTO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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, sell-side analysts expect that Veralto Co. will post 3.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Veralto Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on VLTO. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Veralto from $116.00 to $110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Veralto from $111.00 to $110.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Veralto from $118.00 to $116.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Veralto in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a "buy" rating and a $125.00 target price for the company. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $113.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Melissa Aquino sold 463 shares of Veralto stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.60, for a total transaction of $46,114.80. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 20,761 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,067,795.60. The trade was a 2.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Surekha Trivedi sold 590 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.05, for a total transaction of $57,259.50. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 10,011 shares in the company, valued at $971,567.55. The trade was a 5.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 22,471 shares of company stock valued at $2,234,030. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.