Flputnam Investment Management Co. Cuts Stock Position in Veralto Co. (NYSE:VLTO)

Flputnam Investment Management Co. lessened its stake in Veralto Co. (NYSE:VLTO - Free Report) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 141,898 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,121 shares during the quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. owned approximately 0.06% of Veralto worth $14,452,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Veralto in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. BankPlus Trust Department bought a new stake in Veralto in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Albion Financial Group UT raised its stake in Veralto by 2,100.0% during the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 352 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Veralto during the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in Veralto during the third quarter valued at $46,000. Institutional investors own 91.28% of the company's stock.

Veralto Trading Down 0.4 %

VLTO stock traded down $0.42 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $99.46. The company's stock had a trading volume of 722,314 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,454,691. Veralto Co. has a 1 year low of $85.90 and a 1 year high of $115.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.79, a PEG ratio of 4.24 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $101.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $105.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a current ratio of 1.92.

Remove Ads

Veralto (NYSE:VLTO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.95 earnings per share 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Veralto Co. will post 3.66 EPS for the current year.

Veralto Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $0.11 dividend. This is a positive change from Veralto's previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. Veralto's payout ratio is presently 13.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on VLTO. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Veralto from $111.00 to $110.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Veralto from $118.00 to $116.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Veralto in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $125.00 target price for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Veralto from $116.00 to $110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $112.55.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Melissa Aquino sold 463 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.60, for a total value of $46,114.80. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 20,761 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,067,795.60. This represents a 2.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 transaction 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 represents a 9.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,467 shares of company stock valued at $1,150,366 over the last quarter. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.