Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Raises Holdings in Veralto Co. (NYSE:VLTO)

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ grew its position in shares of Veralto Co. (NYSE:VLTO) by 72.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 103,280 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 43,313 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ’s holdings in Veralto were worth $10,536,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Veralto during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Veralto during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new stake in Veralto during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Albion Financial Group UT lifted its holdings in Veralto by 2,100.0% during the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 352 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Veralto during the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 transaction of $46,114.80. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,761 shares in the company, valued at $2,067,795.60. This represents a 2.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, 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 stock was sold at an average price of $100.35, for a total value of $1,045,044.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 104,496 shares of the company’s stock, 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 11,467 shares of company stock worth $1,150,366. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Veralto Price Performance

Shares of Veralto stock opened at $98.05 on Friday. 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 market capitalization of $24.27 billion, a PE ratio of 29.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.24 and a beta of 1.11. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $100.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $104.91. Veralto Co. has a 12 month low of $85.90 and a 12 month high of $115.00.

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

Veralto Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. Veralto’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on VLTO shares. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Veralto from $116.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Veralto from $118.00 to $116.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Veralto from $111.00 to $110.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Veralto in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $125.00 target price on the stock. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $113.50.

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.