Principal Financial Group Inc. Cuts Holdings in Vontier Co. (NYSE:VNT)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Vontier Co. (NYSE:VNT) by 30.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 356,103 shares of the company’s stock after selling 158,053 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.24% of Vontier worth $12,015,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Vontier by 2,976.5% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,046 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,012 shares during the last quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Vontier during the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Vontier in the 3rd quarter worth $40,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Vontier during the 2nd quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its position in Vontier by 37.1% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,461 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 395 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays raised their price target on Vontier from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. UBS Group began coverage on Vontier in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $47.00 target price for the company. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Vontier from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Vontier from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.44.

Vontier Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VNT opened at $36.61 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.10, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.03, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.24. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $37.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $36.47. Vontier Co. has a 12 month low of $31.22 and a 12 month high of $45.62.

Vontier (NYSE:VNT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.04. Vontier had a net margin of 13.54% and a return on equity of 45.48%. The company had revenue of $750.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $729.23 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.73 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Vontier Co. will post 2.89 EPS for the current year.

Vontier Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were given a dividend of $0.025 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $0.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.27%. Vontier’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.