Blue Trust Inc. Increases Holdings in Veralto Co. (NYSE:VLTO)

Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Veralto Co. (NYSE:VLTO) by 68.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,739 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,519 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Veralto were worth $418,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its position in Veralto by 61.4% in the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 4,934 shares of the company’s stock valued at $471,000 after acquiring an additional 1,877 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Veralto by 123.2% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $318,000 after purchasing an additional 1,836 shares in the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Veralto during the second quarter valued at $415,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Veralto in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,792,000. Finally, Abacus Planning Group Inc. purchased a new position in Veralto in the 3rd quarter worth about $206,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Veralto Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VLTO opened at $103.49 on Friday. Veralto Co. has a 1-year low of $75.05 and a 1-year high of $115.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 2.13 and a quick ratio of 1.87. The company has a market capitalization of $25.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.94, a P/E/G ratio of 4.32 and a beta of 1.06. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $103.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $106.20.

Veralto Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.43%. This is a boost from Veralto’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. Veralto’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Veralto from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Veralto from $118.00 to $116.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Veralto in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $125.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Veralto from $117.00 to $116.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Veralto currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $113.18.

Veralto Profile

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.