Vontier Co. (NYSE:VNT) Stock Holdings Lessened by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of Vontier Co. (NYSE:VNT) by 11.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 514,156 shares of the company’s stock after selling 67,888 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.33% of Vontier worth $19,641,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Vontier by 78.9% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,911 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 843 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in Vontier by 20.1% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 49,689 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,717,000 after purchasing an additional 8,321 shares in the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank increased its position in Vontier by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 120,044 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,148,000 after purchasing an additional 8,597 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Vontier during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, M&T Bank Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Vontier during the 4th quarter valued at about $214,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.83% of the company’s stock.

Vontier Stock Performance

Shares of VNT opened at $33.79 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.14, a current ratio of 1.69 and a quick ratio of 1.26. Vontier Co. has a one year low of $28.84 and a one year high of $45.62. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $36.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $39.72. The company has a market capitalization of $5.19 billion, a PE ratio of 12.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.28.

Vontier (NYSE:VNT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.71 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $696.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $746.43 million. Vontier had a return on equity of 49.17% and a net margin of 13.43%. Vontier’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.67 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Vontier Co. will post 2.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Vontier Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 5th will be given a dividend of $0.025 per share. This represents a $0.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 5th. Vontier’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 3.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on VNT shares. Argus lowered shares of Vontier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Vontier from $45.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Vontier from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Vontier from $50.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vontier currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.25.

Vontier Profile

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.