Veralto Corporation $VLTO Stock Position Boosted by M&G PLC

Key Points

• M&G PLC increased its Veralto stake by 265% in the third quarter, adding 599,850 shares to hold 826,232 shares worth about $77.7 million. Institutional investors collectively own 91.28% of the stock.
• Veralto beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting EPS of $1.18 and revenue of $1.51 billion; revenue rose 7.5% year over year. Analysts’ consensus rating is “Moderate Buy,” with a $120.70 average price target.
• Company insiders sold 55,094 shares worth about $6.03 million over the past 90 days. Veralto also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.13 per share, a 0.4% annualized yield.

M&G PLC increased its position in Veralto Corporation (NYSE:VLTO - Free Report) by 265.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 826,232 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 599,850 shares during the period. M&G PLC owned approximately 0.34% of Veralto worth $77,666,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Highland Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Veralto in the second quarter worth about $32,000. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Veralto by 997.4% in the third quarter. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 428 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 389 shares in the last quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Veralto during the third quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Latitude Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Veralto during the third quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, North Star Investment Management Corp. increased its position in shares of Veralto by 540.5% during the third quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 711 shares of the company's stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on VLTO shares. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Veralto from $107.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, November 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Veralto in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Veralto in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $125.00 target price on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $120.00 target price (up from $115.00) on shares of Veralto in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Veralto from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Veralto has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $120.70.

Veralto Price Performance

VLTO opened at $117.95 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 2.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.59, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.51. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $100.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $93.57. Veralto Corporation has a 52-week low of $80.03 and a 52-week high of $119.03.

Veralto (NYSE:VLTO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.09. Veralto had a net margin of 17.27% and a return on equity of 35.08%. The firm had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.99 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Veralto Corporation will post 4.51 EPS for the current year.

Veralto Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Veralto's dividend payout ratio is 12.87%.

Insider Activity at Veralto

In other news, CAO Bernard M. Skeete sold 1,514 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.58, for a total transaction of $170,446.12. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,760 shares of the company's stock, valued at $535,880.80. This represents a 24.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Jennifer Honeycutt sold 7,098 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total value of $745,290.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 120,060 shares in the company, valued at $12,606,300. The trade was a 5.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 55,094 shares of company stock worth $6,032,688. Company insiders own 0.43% of the company's stock.

About Veralto

Veralto Corporation is a global provider of water quality and product quality solutions. Its businesses develop technologies and services that help customers monitor and treat water, as well as ensure the quality, safety and consistency of products and packaging.

Veralto operates through two segments: Water Quality and Product Quality & Innovation. Its offerings include water analysis, treatment and monitoring systems, and technologies for product coding and marking, packaging design, color management and print production.

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