Raymond James & Associates Purchases 31,952 Shares of Vontier Co. (NYSE:VNT)

Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in Vontier Co. (NYSE:VNT) by 15.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 234,891 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 31,952 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates’ holdings in Vontier were worth $7,925,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Vontier by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,171 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its holdings in Vontier by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 13,129 shares of the company’s stock valued at $502,000 after acquiring an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its holdings in Vontier by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 7,729 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,000 after acquiring an additional 448 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning raised its holdings in Vontier by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 17,918 shares of the company’s stock valued at $684,000 after acquiring an additional 491 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ORG Partners LLC acquired a new position in Vontier in the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. 95.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Vontier Price Performance

Vontier stock opened at $34.08 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.14, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.69. Vontier Co. has a 52 week low of $29.16 and a 52 week high of $45.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.27. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $33.85 and a 200-day moving average of $36.98.

Vontier (NYSE:VNT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $696.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $746.43 million. Vontier had a return on equity of 49.17% and a net margin of 13.43%. Vontier’s quarterly revenue was down 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.67 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Vontier Co. will post 2.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vontier Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 5th were given a $0.025 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 5th. This represents a $0.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.29%. Vontier’s dividend payout ratio is presently 3.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on VNT. Argus cut Vontier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Vontier from $50.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 5th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Vontier from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Vontier from $45.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.25.

About Vontier

Vontier Corporation provides mobility ecosystem solutions worldwide. The company operates through Mobility Technologies, Repair Solutions, and Environmental and Fueling Solutions segments. The Mobility Technologies segment provides digitally equipment solutions for mobility ecosystem, such as point-of-sale and payment systems, workflow automation, telematics, data analytics, software platform, and integrated solutions for alternative fuel dispensing.