Veralto Co. (NYSE:VLTO) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Veralto Co. (NYSE:VLTO) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the eleven brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $112.55.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on VLTO shares. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Veralto from $116.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Veralto from $118.00 to $116.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Veralto from $111.00 to $110.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Veralto in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $125.00 price target on the stock.

Veralto Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of VLTO opened at $99.70 on Friday. Veralto has a 52-week low of $85.70 and a 52-week high of $115.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $101.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $105.80. The company has a market capitalization of $24.66 billion, a PE ratio of 29.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.24 and a beta of 1.06.

Veralto (NYSE:VLTO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.05. Veralto had a net margin of 16.04% and a return on equity of 49.29%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Veralto will post 3.66 EPS for the current year.

Veralto Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $0.11 dividend. This is a boost from Veralto’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. Veralto’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Melissa Aquino sold 463 shares of Veralto stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.60, for a total value of $46,114.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 20,761 shares in the company, valued at $2,067,795.60. The trade was a 2.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Surekha Trivedi sold 590 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.35, for a total transaction of $59,206.50. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,470 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $849,964.50. This trade represents a 6.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,467 shares of company stock valued at $1,150,366 in the last three months. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Veralto

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Veralto during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of Veralto during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Veralto in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new stake in shares of Veralto in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT grew its stake in Veralto by 2,100.0% during the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 352 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 336 shares during the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.