Franklin Resources Inc. Trims Stake in Vontier Co. (NYSE:VNT)

Franklin Resources Inc. cut its position in shares of Vontier Co. (NYSE:VNT - Free Report) by 6.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,175,800 shares of the company's stock after selling 535,666 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 5.44% of Vontier worth $280,839,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of VNT. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Vontier by 305.1% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 902,432 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,473,000 after purchasing an additional 679,651 shares during the last quarter. Stanley Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Vontier during the second quarter valued at approximately $17,954,000. River Road Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Vontier by 21.4% during the third quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 2,356,558 shares of the company's stock valued at $79,510,000 after purchasing an additional 415,750 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Vontier by 12.1% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,565,767 shares of the company's stock valued at $98,011,000 after buying an additional 277,389 shares during the last quarter. Finally, F M Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vontier in the second quarter valued at approximately $9,877,000. 95.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Vontier Stock Performance

Vontier stock traded down $0.31 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $39.60. 763,777 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 786,689. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $37.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.95 billion, a PE ratio of 15.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.24. Vontier Co. has a one year low of $31.22 and a one year high of $45.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.10.

Vontier (NYSE:VNT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $750.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $729.23 million. Vontier had a return on equity of 45.48% and a net margin of 13.54%. The business's revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.73 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Vontier Co. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Vontier Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st were given a dividend of $0.025 per share. This represents a $0.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.25%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 21st. Vontier's payout ratio is 3.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Argus lowered Vontier from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Barclays increased their target price on Vontier from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Wolfe Research upgraded Vontier from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group began coverage on Vontier in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $47.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Vontier from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $44.44.

About Vontier

Vontier Corporation provides mobility ecosystem solutions worldwide. The company operates through Mobility Technologies, Repair Solutions, and Environmental and Fueling Solutions segments. The Mobility Technologies segment provides digitally equipment solutions for mobility ecosystem, such as point-of-sale and payment systems, workflow automation, telematics, data analytics, software platform, and integrated solutions for alternative fuel dispensing.