Vontier Co. (NYSE:VNT) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Vontier Co. (NYSE:VNT) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $45.43.

Several analysts recently commented on VNT shares. Citigroup decreased their price target on Vontier from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Vontier from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Vontier from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Vontier in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $47.00 price target for the company. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Vontier from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th.

Vontier Trading Up 3.4 %

Shares of VNT stock opened at $33.19 on Friday. 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 fifty day moving average of $37.08 and a 200-day moving average of $36.38. Vontier has a 52-week low of $31.22 and a 52-week high of $45.62. The stock has a market cap of $4.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.26.

Vontier (NYSE:VNT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $776.80 million during the quarter. Vontier had a net margin of 14.17% and a return on equity of 43.22%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Vontier will post 3.13 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, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be given a $0.025 dividend. This represents a $0.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.30%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. Vontier’s payout ratio is presently 3.64%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vontier

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Vontier in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $64,869,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Vontier by 659.9% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 860,423 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,380,000 after buying an additional 747,196 shares during the period. J. Goldman & Co LP bought a new stake in shares of Vontier during the fourth quarter worth $17,478,000. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of Vontier by 39.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,128,451 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,155,000 after acquiring an additional 318,775 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Vontier by 821.7% during the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 321,674 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,731,000 after acquiring an additional 286,774 shares during the period. 95.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.