BNP Paribas Financial Markets Sells 159,922 Shares of Vontier Corporation $VNT

Key Points

• BNP Paribas Financial Markets cut its Vontier position by 48.1% in the fourth quarter, selling 159,922 shares and leaving it with 172,895 shares worth about $6.43 million.
• Despite that sale, institutional ownership remains very high, with hedge funds and other institutions holding 95.83% of Vontier shares. Several firms, including Corient Private Wealth, Franklin Resources, Victory Capital, and Arrowstreet, significantly increased their stakes.
• Analysts are mixed on the stock: Vontier currently has an average "Hold" rating and a consensus price target of $42.38, while the shares recently traded at $28.87. The company also authorized a $1 billion share buyback and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.025 per share.

BNP Paribas Financial Markets decreased its position in Vontier Corporation (NYSE:VNT - Free Report) by 48.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 172,895 shares of the company's stock after selling 159,922 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned approximately 0.12% of Vontier worth $6,428,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of VNT. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Vontier by 104.6% in the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,793,944 shares of the company's stock worth $176,897,000 after purchasing an additional 2,450,723 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Vontier by 85.0% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,225,596 shares of the company's stock worth $219,318,000 after purchasing an additional 2,401,220 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Vontier by 4,958.3% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,151,517 shares of the company's stock worth $90,299,000 after purchasing an additional 2,108,983 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Vontier in the 4th quarter worth about $68,526,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in Vontier by 107.7% in the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,944,880 shares of the company's stock worth $81,627,000 after purchasing an additional 1,008,340 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.83% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VNT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Evercore set a $36.00 price target on shares of Vontier in a research note on Monday, May 11th. KeyCorp decreased their target price on Vontier from $50.00 to $40.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Argus lowered Vontier from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Weiss Ratings lowered Vontier from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Vontier from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $42.38.

Vontier Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VNT opened at $28.87 on Wednesday. Vontier Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $27.25 and a fifty-two week high of $48.20. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $32.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.23. The firm has a market cap of $4.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.16.

Vontier (NYSE:VNT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82 by ($0.02). Vontier had a return on equity of 37.88% and a net margin of 13.37%.The business had revenue of $750.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $737.21 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.77 EPS. Vontier's quarterly revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Vontier has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.350-3.500 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.780-0.810 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Vontier Corporation will post 3.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Vontier announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, May 19th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 25.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Vontier Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 4th will be given a dividend of $0.025 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 4th. This represents a $0.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Vontier's dividend payout ratio is presently 3.53%.

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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