National Pension Service Boosts Stock Position in Veralto Corporation $VLTO

National Pension Service increased its stake in Veralto Corporation (NYSE:VLTO) by 3.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 405,237 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 14,775 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned 0.16% of Veralto worth $43,202,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Veralto during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $264,150,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its stake in Veralto by 6,015.1% in the second quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 1,347,647 shares of the company’s stock valued at $136,045,000 after purchasing an additional 1,325,609 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Veralto by 154.7% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,159,433 shares of the company’s stock valued at $117,045,000 after purchasing an additional 704,213 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Veralto in the second quarter worth $69,839,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in Veralto by 46.0% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,702,096 shares of the company’s stock worth $171,800,000 after buying an additional 536,299 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Veralto Stock Up 2.5%

VLTO stock opened at $101.45 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $100.95 and its 200 day moving average is $103.02. The stock has a market cap of $25.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Veralto Corporation has a 1-year low of $83.86 and a 1-year high of $110.11.

Veralto Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were paid a $0.13 dividend. This is an increase from Veralto’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 31st. Veralto’s payout ratio is currently 14.25%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Mattias Bystrom sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.73, for a total transaction of $101,730.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 31,430 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,197,373.90. This trade represents a 3.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on VLTO shares. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Veralto from $110.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Veralto from $123.00 to $114.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective (down from $125.00) on shares of Veralto in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Veralto from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Veralto from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 31st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Veralto has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $112.89.

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. This segment provides water solutions, including chemical reagents, services, and digital solutions.