Bessemer Group Inc. Reduces Stake in Veralto Corporation (NYSE:VLTO)

Bessemer Group Inc. lessened its stake in Veralto Corporation (NYSE:VLTO - Free Report) by 52.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,186 shares of the company's stock after selling 17,552 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc.'s holdings in Veralto were worth $1,577,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VLTO. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of Veralto in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Veralto during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in Veralto during the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in Veralto during the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in Veralto by 64.5% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 454 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.28% of the company's stock.

Veralto Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE VLTO traded down $0.51 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $100.45. The company's stock had a trading volume of 109,277 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,413,706. Veralto Corporation has a 1 year low of $83.87 and a 1 year high of $115.00. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $97.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $98.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.35 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 2.19 and a quick ratio of 1.92.

Veralto (NYSE:VLTO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.28 billion. Veralto had a net margin of 16.56% and a return on equity of 45.63%. The firm's revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.84 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Veralto Corporation will post 3.66 EPS for the current year.

Veralto Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. Veralto's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on VLTO shares. Northcoast Research began coverage on shares of Veralto in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. They set a "buy" rating and a $110.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Veralto from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup cut their price objective on Veralto from $116.00 to $100.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Veralto from $105.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Veralto from $103.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $110.09.

Insider Buying and Selling at Veralto

In related news, SVP Surekha Trivedi sold 590 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.05, for a total transaction of $57,259.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 10,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $971,567.55. This represents a 5.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Lesley Beneteau sold 458 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.84, for a total transaction of $46,184.72. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,368,499.64. This trade represents a 3.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 46,503 shares of company stock valued at $4,396,629 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

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.