Welch & Forbes LLC Sells 823 Shares of Vontier Co. (NYSE:VNT)

Welch & Forbes LLC decreased its position in shares of Vontier Co. (NYSE:VNT) by 10.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,840 shares of the company’s stock after selling 823 shares during the period. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Vontier were worth $236,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Vontier during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Vontier by 3,355.3% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,313 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 1,275 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of Vontier by 78.9% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 843 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Vontier by 132.1% in the third quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 3,212 shares of the company’s stock worth $99,000 after acquiring an additional 1,828 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in Vontier in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $108,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.83% of the company’s stock.

Vontier Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:VNT traded down $0.66 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $40.53. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 100,789 shares, compared to its average volume of 761,813. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $42.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $37.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21. Vontier Co. has a 12 month low of $27.21 and a 12 month high of $45.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.26 billion, a PE ratio of 14.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.33.

Vontier (NYSE:VNT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.05. Vontier had a return on equity of 54.84% and a net margin of 14.02%. The firm had revenue of $755.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $754.50 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.68 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Vontier Co. will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vontier Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were paid a $0.025 dividend. This represents a $0.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 6th. Vontier’s dividend payout ratio is currently 3.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on VNT shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Vontier from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Vontier from $40.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Vontier from $37.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Bank of America raised Vontier from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $37.00 to $40.00 in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Vontier from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vontier currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.00.

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.