Franklin Resources Inc. Has $154.75 Million Stock Holdings in Veralto Co. (NYSE:VLTO)

Franklin Resources Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Veralto Co. (NYSE:VLTO - Free Report) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,519,388 shares of the company's stock after selling 40,710 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.61% of Veralto worth $154,749,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in VLTO. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Veralto during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new position in Veralto in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Albion Financial Group UT lifted its stake in shares of Veralto by 2,100.0% in the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 352 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Veralto during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in shares of Veralto during the third quarter worth approximately $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.28% of the company's stock.

Veralto Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of Veralto stock traded down $2.09 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $86.73. The company's stock had a trading volume of 562,784 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,494,934. Veralto Co. has a 1-year low of $84.37 and a 1-year high of $115.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.91, a PEG ratio of 4.24 and a beta of 0.97. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $98.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $103.45.

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Veralto (NYSE:VLTO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.05. Veralto had a net margin of 16.04% and a return on equity of 49.29%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Veralto Co. will post 3.66 earnings per share 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 paid a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Veralto's payout ratio is 13.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on VLTO shares. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Veralto from $116.00 to $110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Veralto from $118.00 to $116.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Veralto from $111.00 to $110.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Veralto in a 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Veralto has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $113.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Surekha Trivedi sold 590 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was 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 directly owns 8,470 shares in the company, valued at approximately $849,964.50. The trade was a 6.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Jennifer Honeycutt sold 10,414 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.35, for a total value of $1,045,044.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 104,496 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,486,173.60. This trade represents a 9.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 22,471 shares of company stock worth $2,234,030. Insiders own 0.31% of the company's stock.

Veralto Company Profile

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.