193,220 Shares in Vontier Corporation $VNT Purchased by Legal & General Group Plc

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc purchased 193,220 Vontier shares worth approximately $5.6 million, joining other institutional investors in increasing exposure. Institutions and hedge funds own 95.83% of Vontier’s outstanding stock.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: Vontier has an average “Hold” rating and a consensus price target of $41, while recent actions included Barclays cutting its target to $45 and Wolfe Research maintaining an “Outperform” rating.
• Vontier exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $0.89 in EPS and $756.7 million in revenue. The company also announced a $1 billion share-repurchase authorization and a quarterly dividend of $0.025 per share.

Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in shares of Vontier Corporation (NYSE:VNT - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 193,220 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,603,000. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.14% of Vontier at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in Vontier by 21.6% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 776,603 shares of the company's stock worth $27,546,000 after buying an additional 137,750 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in shares of Vontier by 1,950.0% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 73,758 shares of the company's stock worth $2,742,000 after acquiring an additional 70,160 shares in the last quarter. ASO GROUP Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Vontier in the fourth quarter worth $4,390,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Vontier by 14.2% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 307,265 shares of the company's stock worth $10,899,000 after acquiring an additional 38,152 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Vontier by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,803,510 shares of the company's stock worth $215,774,000 after acquiring an additional 577,914 shares during the period. 95.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on VNT. Barclays decreased their target price on Vontier from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 8th. Argus lowered shares of Vontier from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Vontier from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Vontier from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, Wolfe Research restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $43.00 price objective on shares of Vontier in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $41.00.

Vontier Price Performance

VNT stock opened at $33.04 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $31.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The stock has a market cap of $4.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.71, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.13. Vontier Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $27.25 and a fifty-two week high of $48.20.

Vontier (NYSE:VNT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.09. Vontier had a net margin of 11.34% and a return on equity of 38.57%. The company had revenue of $756.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $747.12 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.79 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. Vontier has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.450-3.550 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.820-0.860 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Vontier Corporation will post 3.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vontier Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.025 per share. This represents a $0.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 3rd. Vontier's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 4.15%.

Vontier declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, May 19th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 25.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

About Vontier

Vontier is a global industrial technology company focused on advancing mobility infrastructure and transportation solutions. Established as a standalone public company in October 2020 through the spin-off of Fortive’s mobility and transportation platforms, Vontier is headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina. The company’s mission centers on delivering innovative products and services that help customers meet evolving demands in fuel retail, fleet management, and automotive service.

The company’s diversified portfolio spans several well-known brands.

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