Federated Hermes Inc. Boosts Position in Veralto Corporation (NYSE:VLTO)

Key Points

• Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in Veralto Corporation by 1.0%, owning 3,066,510 shares after purchasing an additional 29,802 shares, now representing 0.6% of its investment portfolio.
• Veralto recently reported $0.93 earnings per share, exceeding analysts' estimates of $0.89, with a revenue of $1.37 billion, indicating a 6.4% year-over-year increase.
• The company's quarterly dividend of $0.11 per share will be paid to stockholders, reflecting an annualized yield of 0.43% and a 12.57% payout ratio.

Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in shares of Veralto Corporation (NYSE:VLTO - Free Report) by 1.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,066,510 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 29,802 shares during the period. Veralto comprises about 0.6% of Federated Hermes Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Federated Hermes Inc. owned about 1.24% of Veralto worth $298,831,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of VLTO. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Veralto by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,601,676 shares of the company's stock worth $670,781,000 after buying an additional 733,056 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Veralto by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,541,367 shares of the company's stock worth $462,538,000 after buying an additional 401,228 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Veralto by 13.6% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,259,348 shares of the company's stock valued at $415,074,000 after purchasing an additional 509,104 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Veralto by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,157,143 shares of the company's stock valued at $321,555,000 after purchasing an additional 431,607 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Veralto by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,610,965 shares of the company's stock worth $265,927,000 after buying an additional 291,472 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.28% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on VLTO shares. Northcoast Research started coverage on Veralto in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. They set a "buy" rating and a $110.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Veralto from $116.00 to $100.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Wolfe Research raised Veralto from a "hold" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus set a $120.00 price objective on Veralto and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Veralto from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Veralto has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $114.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Mattias Bystrom sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.96, for a total value of $249,900.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 32,430 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,241,702.80. This trade represents a 7.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Lesley Beneteau sold 458 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.84, for a total value of $46,184.72. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 13,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,368,499.64. This represents a 3.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 3,806 shares of company stock valued at $381,351. 0.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Veralto Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE VLTO traded down $0.47 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $104.37. The company's stock had a trading volume of 641,250 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,401,794. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 2.32. The stock has a market cap of $25.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.15, a P/E/G ratio of 4.12 and a beta of 0.91. Veralto Corporation has a 12 month low of $83.86 and a 12 month high of $115.00. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $101.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $98.59.

Veralto (NYSE:VLTO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.04. Veralto had a net margin of 16.65% and a return on equity of 41.45%. The firm had revenue of $1.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.85 EPS. The company's revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Veralto Corporation will post 3.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Veralto Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were issued a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. Veralto's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.29%.

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.