Prudential PLC Cuts Stake in Veralto Corporation (NYSE:VLTO)

Key Points

• Prudential PLC has reduced its stake in Veralto Corporation by 12.3% during the first quarter, now holding 106,797 shares valued at approximately $10.4 million.
• Veralto's stock received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $114.00, following recent coverage upgrades from multiple analysts.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.11 per share, yielding 0.4%, with a low payout ratio of 12.29%.

Prudential PLC decreased its position in Veralto Corporation (NYSE:VLTO - Free Report) by 12.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 106,797 shares of the company's stock after selling 15,020 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC's holdings in Veralto were worth $10,407,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Baldwin Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Veralto by 3.4% during the first quarter. Baldwin Investment Management LLC now owns 3,219 shares of the company's stock valued at $314,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Veralto by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,405 shares of the company's stock valued at $652,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Veralto by 1.3% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 8,784 shares of the company's stock valued at $856,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the period. Phoenix Financial Ltd. lifted its holdings in Veralto by 2.9% in the first quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd. now owns 4,644 shares of the company's stock valued at $454,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the period. Finally, Argent Trust Co lifted its holdings in Veralto by 1.8% in the first quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 8,096 shares of the company's stock valued at $789,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.28% of the company's stock.

Veralto Stock Performance

VLTO traded down $1.99 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $107.76. The company had a trading volume of 957,202 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,373,639. The company has a quick ratio of 2.06, a current ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The business has a 50-day moving average of $102.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $98.91. The company has a market cap of $26.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.10, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.91. Veralto Corporation has a 1 year low of $83.86 and a 1 year high of $115.00.

Veralto (NYSE:VLTO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.34 billion. Veralto had a return on equity of 41.45% and a net margin of 16.65%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.85 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Veralto Corporation will post 3.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Surekha Trivedi sold 848 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.55, for a total transaction of $85,266.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 8,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $847,938.15. This trade represents a 9.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on VLTO. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Veralto from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $120.00 target price on Veralto and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Wolfe Research raised Veralto from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Northcoast Research began coverage on Veralto in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $110.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Veralto from $106.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $113.43.

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.