Short Interest in Veralto Co. (NYSE:VLTO) Drops By 21.0%

Veralto Co. (NYSE:VLTO) saw a large decline in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,530,000 shares, a decline of 21.0% from the February 28th total of 4,470,000 shares. Currently, 1.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,460,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.4 days.

Veralto Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VLTO traded up $1.10 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $98.72. The stock had a trading volume of 790,839 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,501,229. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $99.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $103.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27. Veralto has a 52 week low of $85.91 and a 52 week high of $115.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.56, a P/E/G ratio of 4.24 and a beta of 1.11.

Veralto (NYSE:VLTO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.05. Veralto had a net margin of 16.04% and a return on equity of 49.29%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Veralto will post 3.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Veralto Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Veralto’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on VLTO shares. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Veralto from $116.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Veralto from $118.00 to $116.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Veralto in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $125.00 target price for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Veralto from $111.00 to $110.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Veralto has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $113.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Surekha Trivedi sold 590 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.35, for a total transaction of $59,206.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,470 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $849,964.50. This trade represents a 6.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jennifer Honeycutt sold 10,414 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.56, for a total transaction of $1,026,403.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 116,637 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,495,742.72. This trade represents a 8.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 21,881 shares of company stock worth $2,176,770. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Veralto

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in shares of Veralto by 23.3% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 3,389 shares of the company’s stock valued at $330,000 after purchasing an additional 641 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Veralto by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 563,102 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,352,000 after buying an additional 39,342 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Veralto by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 72,261 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,360,000 after buying an additional 2,064 shares in the last quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ bought a new position in shares of Veralto during the 4th quarter worth about $8,064,000. Finally, Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH boosted its position in shares of Veralto by 68.0% during the 4th quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 9,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,002,000 after acquiring an additional 3,979 shares in the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.