Aviva PLC Acquires 96,453 Shares of Veralto Co. (NYSE:VLTO)

Aviva PLC raised its holdings in Veralto Co. (NYSE:VLTO) by 15.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 704,790 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 96,453 shares during the period. Aviva PLC’s holdings in Veralto were worth $71,783,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Veralto during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new position in Veralto during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Albion Financial Group UT raised its position in Veralto by 2,100.0% during the 4th 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. purchased a new stake in shares of Veralto in the 4th quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Veralto by 35.3% during the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 418 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Veralto Stock Performance

Shares of VLTO 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $98.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $103.48. 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 cap of $22.00 billion, a PE ratio of 26.56, a P/E/G ratio of 4.24 and a beta of 0.97.

Veralto (NYSE:VLTO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Veralto Co. will post 3.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Veralto Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Veralto

In other Veralto news, CEO Jennifer Honeycutt sold 10,414 shares of Veralto 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 104,496 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,486,173.60. The trade was a 9.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $46,114.80. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 22,471 shares of company stock worth $2,234,030. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on VLTO shares. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Veralto from $111.00 to $110.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Veralto from $118.00 to $116.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Veralto in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $125.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Veralto from $116.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Six equities 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.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.