Prudential PLC Raises Stock Position in Veralto Co. (NYSE:VLTO)

Prudential PLC grew its stake in shares of Veralto Co. (NYSE:VLTO) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 121,817 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,072 shares during the period. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Veralto were worth $12,407,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in Veralto by 119.6% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 10,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,212,000 after purchasing an additional 5,900 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Veralto by 8.8% during the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 128,677 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,394,000 after purchasing an additional 10,390 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its holdings in Veralto by 18.5% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,841 shares of the company’s stock valued at $206,000 after buying an additional 288 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its stake in Veralto by 7.4% in the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 44,471 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,975,000 after buying an additional 3,071 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in Veralto during the third quarter worth $576,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Veralto Trading Down 5.5 %

Shares of Veralto stock opened at $88.71 on Friday. Veralto Co. has a 12-month low of $86.04 and a 12-month high of $115.00. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $98.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $103.52. 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 $22.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.56, a PEG ratio of 4.24 and a beta of 0.97.

Veralto (NYSE:VLTO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.95 earnings per share (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%. Analysts predict that Veralto Co. will post 3.66 EPS for the current year.

Veralto Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. Veralto’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Jennifer Honeycutt sold 10,414 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.35, for a total transaction of $1,045,044.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 104,496 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,486,173.60. This trade represents a 9.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Melissa Aquino sold 463 shares of the business’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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,067,795.60. The trade was a 2.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 22,471 shares of company stock worth $2,234,030. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Veralto 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.