Hikari Tsushin Inc. Buys New Position in Veralto Co. (NYSE:VLTO)

Hikari Tsushin Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Veralto Co. (NYSE:VLTO - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 21,546 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,772,000.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of VLTO. Fishman Jay A Ltd. MI grew its position in Veralto by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Fishman Jay A Ltd. MI now owns 4,174 shares of the company's stock worth $343,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Veralto in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Blue Trust Inc. purchased a new position in Veralto during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. First Command Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Veralto during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt acquired a new stake in shares of Veralto in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Institutional investors own 91.28% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Mattias Bystrom sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.10, for a total transaction of $43,050.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 30,310 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,609,691. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Mattias Bystrom sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.10, for a total value of $43,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 30,310 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,609,691. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Melissa Aquino sold 8,041 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.56, for a total value of $752,315.96. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 20,761 shares in the company, valued at $1,942,399.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on VLTO. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Veralto from $78.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Veralto in a report on Tuesday, March 12th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $103.00 price objective on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Veralto from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Veralto in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $104.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Veralto from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $95.18.

Veralto Price Performance

Veralto stock traded up $2.00 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $98.94. The company had a trading volume of 1,425,513 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,574,587. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 1.83 and a quick ratio of 1.56. Veralto Co. has a 12-month low of $65.51 and a 12-month high of $99.37. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $90.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $82.48.

Veralto (NYSE:VLTO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $1.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. Veralto's quarterly revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Veralto Co. will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Veralto Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were given a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th.

About Veralto

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.