Veralto (NYSE:VLTO) Reaches New 52-Week High Following Earnings Beat

Shares of Veralto Co. (NYSE:VLTO) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $114.79 and last traded at $114.79, with a volume of 2084 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $110.93.

The company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.30 billion. Veralto had a return on equity of 58.82% and a net margin of 15.60%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.75 EPS.

Veralto Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 27th will be given a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 27th. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.35%. Veralto’s payout ratio is 11.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Veralto from $100.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Veralto from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Veralto from $104.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Veralto from $98.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Veralto from $117.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Veralto currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $108.27.

Insider Buying and Selling at Veralto

In other news, SVP Surekha Trivedi sold 753 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.72, for a total value of $80,360.16. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,671 shares in the company, valued at $1,352,249.12. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, SVP Surekha Trivedi sold 753 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.72, for a total transaction of $80,360.16. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,671 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,352,249.12. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Jennifer Honeycutt sold 13,191 shares of Veralto stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.98, for a total transaction of $1,477,128.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 138,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,514,381.08. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 39,039 shares of company stock valued at $4,310,335. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Veralto

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Veralto by 78.3% in the first quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 80,657 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,151,000 after purchasing an additional 35,433 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in shares of Veralto by 247.8% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 48,428 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,294,000 after buying an additional 34,505 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its stake in shares of Veralto by 19.8% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 169,101 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,952,000 after buying an additional 27,891 shares during the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Veralto in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,011,000. Finally, Mediolanum International Funds Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Veralto during the first quarter valued at approximately $2,372,000. Institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Veralto Stock Down 1.6 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $110.75 and a 200 day moving average of $102.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 1.96 and a quick ratio of 1.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.68 billion and a P/E ratio of 32.62.

Veralto Company 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.