Principal Financial Group Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Vontier Co. (NYSE:VNT)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Vontier Co. (NYSE:VNT) by 30.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 356,103 shares of the company’s stock after selling 158,053 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.23% of Vontier worth $12,015,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Vontier by 2,976.5% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,046 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 1,012 shares during the period. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. purchased a new position in Vontier in the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Vontier during the second quarter worth $44,000. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in Vontier by 32.0% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,245 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,000 after purchasing an additional 786 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Vontier by 10.9% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,171 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.83% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on VNT shares. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Vontier from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Vontier from $45.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Argus lowered shares of Vontier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Vontier from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.50.

Vontier Price Performance

Shares of VNT opened at $38.08 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $5.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.59, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.25. Vontier Co. has a fifty-two week low of $31.22 and a fifty-two week high of $45.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.10. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $34.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $36.80.

Vontier (NYSE:VNT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $750.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $729.23 million. Vontier had a return on equity of 45.48% and a net margin of 13.54%. The company’s revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.73 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Vontier Co. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vontier Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.025 per share. This represents a $0.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.26%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Vontier’s dividend payout ratio is presently 3.83%.

Vontier Company 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.