KBC Group NV Boosts Stake in Vontier Co. (NYSE:VNT)

KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of Vontier Co. (NYSE:VNT) by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,978 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 592 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Vontier were worth $438,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Vontier by 22.9% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 16,433 shares of the company’s stock valued at $554,000 after purchasing an additional 3,060 shares during the period. MQS Management LLC purchased a new stake in Vontier in the 3rd quarter valued at about $322,000. Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new position in Vontier in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,090,000. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in Vontier by 37.1% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,461 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 395 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atria Investments Inc increased its position in shares of Vontier by 5.4% during the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 14,083 shares of the company’s stock worth $475,000 after acquiring an additional 718 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.83% of the company’s stock.

Vontier Stock Down 1.4 %

Vontier stock opened at $37.08 on Wednesday. Vontier Co. has a 1-year low of $31.22 and a 1-year high of $45.62. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $35.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.10, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.21, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.25.

Vontier (NYSE:VNT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $750.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $729.23 million. Vontier had a return on equity of 45.48% and a net margin of 13.54%. The company’s revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.73 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Vontier Co. will post 2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vontier Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.025 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $0.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.27%. Vontier’s payout ratio is currently 3.83%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on VNT. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Vontier from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Vontier from $45.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Argus downgraded Vontier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Vontier from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vontier currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.50.

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.