Franklin Resources Inc. Reduces Stake in Vontier Co. (NYSE:VNT)

Franklin Resources Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Vontier Co. (NYSE:VNT) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,931,584 shares of the company’s stock after selling 244,216 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.05% of Vontier worth $289,265,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Vontier by 0.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,571,207 shares of the company’s stock worth $86,776,000 after buying an additional 18,091 shares during the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Vontier by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 2,502,132 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,253,000 after acquiring an additional 145,574 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Vontier in the 4th quarter valued at about $64,869,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Vontier by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,506,595 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,946,000 after purchasing an additional 30,362 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Vontier by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,480,343 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,988,000 after purchasing an additional 5,355 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.83% of the company’s stock.

Vontier Price Performance

NYSE:VNT opened at $32.97 on Wednesday. Vontier Co. has a 52-week low of $31.22 and a 52-week high of $45.34. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $36.32 and a 200 day moving average of $36.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.26.

Vontier (NYSE:VNT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $776.80 million during the quarter. Vontier had a return on equity of 43.22% and a net margin of 14.17%. On average, research analysts expect that Vontier Co. will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vontier Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were issued a $0.025 dividend. This represents a $0.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 6th. Vontier’s payout ratio is 3.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Vontier in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $47.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Vontier from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays reduced their price target on Vontier from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Vontier from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Vontier from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.50.

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.