Veralto (NYSE:VLTO) Hits New 12-Month High Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Veralto Corporation (NYSE:VLTO) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $114.26 and last traded at $112.1550, with a volume of 244,065 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $104.06.

The company reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.50 billion. Veralto had a net margin of 17.35% and a return on equity of 34.76%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.99 earnings per share.

Veralto Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Veralto’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on VLTO shares. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Veralto from $104.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Veralto from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Veralto from $100.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $113.00 target price on Veralto in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Veralto in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $125.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $112.60.

Insider Transactions at Veralto

In related news, SVP Surekha Trivedi sold 986 shares of Veralto stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.05, for a total transaction of $95,691.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 8,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $831,233.25. This trade represents a 10.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Jennifer Honeycutt sold 7,098 shares of Veralto stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total transaction of $745,290.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 120,060 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,606,300. The trade was a 5.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.43% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Veralto

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. First Nebraska Trust Co bought a new position in Veralto in the third quarter valued at about $1,400,000. Factory Mutual Insurance Co. bought a new position in Veralto in the 3rd quarter worth $29,321,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Veralto during the third quarter valued at about $7,259,000. Vise Technologies Inc. increased its position in Veralto by 79.4% in the third quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 10,736 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,013,000 after buying an additional 4,753 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Grandfield & Dodd LLC increased its holdings in Veralto by 726.9% in the 3rd quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 20,392 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,923,000 after acquiring an additional 17,926 shares in the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Veralto Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $27.65 billion, a PE ratio of 28.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.62. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $97.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $93.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86.

Veralto Company Profile

Veralto Corporation (NYSE: VLTO) is a global provider of technology, products and services that help customers manage water quality and improve the quality, safety and efficiency of packaged goods. The company serves municipal, industrial, commercial and consumer-facing markets through a portfolio of operating businesses.

Veralto’s Water Quality segment provides instruments, software and services used to test, monitor and treat water and wastewater. Its brands include Hach, Trojan Technologies and ChemTreat, which support applications such as laboratory and field testing, disinfection, water treatment and industrial water management.

The company’s Product Quality & Innovation segment supplies technologies used in product identification, packaging design, color management and quality inspection.