Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $108.01 Million Holdings in Veralto Corporation (NYSE:VLTO)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of Veralto Corporation (NYSE:VLTO - Free Report) by 1.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,108,382 shares of the company's stock after selling 21,537 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.45% of Veralto worth $108,012,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Veralto in the 4th quarter valued at $289,028,000. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Veralto by 222.3% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,602,399 shares of the company's stock valued at $265,054,000 after purchasing an additional 1,794,992 shares during the period. Champlain Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in Veralto in the 4th quarter valued at $133,058,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets bought a new stake in Veralto in the 4th quarter valued at $96,888,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Veralto by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,601,676 shares of the company's stock valued at $670,781,000 after purchasing an additional 733,056 shares during the period. 91.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Veralto from $116.00 to $100.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Veralto from $105.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Veralto from $103.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on shares of Veralto in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. They set a "buy" rating and a $110.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Veralto from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $110.09.

Veralto Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VLTO traded down $0.38 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $102.34. 933,216 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,407,613. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $99.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $98.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.37 billion, a PE ratio of 29.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 0.91. Veralto Corporation has a 12 month low of $83.87 and a 12 month high of $115.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 2.19.

Veralto (NYSE:VLTO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.08. The business 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 for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.84 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Veralto Corporation will post 3.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Veralto Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Veralto's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Veralto

In related news, SVP Lesley Beneteau sold 458 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 13,571 shares in the company, valued at $1,368,499.64. This trade represents a 3.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Melissa Aquino sold 31,689 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.67, for a total transaction of $2,968,308.63. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 17,434 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,633,042.78. This trade represents a 64.51% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 45,913 shares of company stock worth $4,339,370 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

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.