Securian Asset Management Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Vontier Co. (NYSE:VNT)

Securian Asset Management Inc. lessened its holdings in Vontier Co. (NYSE:VNT) by 5.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,354 shares of the company’s stock after selling 597 shares during the period. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Vontier were worth $414,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Great Lakes Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vontier during the 4th quarter valued at about $217,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in Vontier by 44.5% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,273 shares of the company’s stock worth $83,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Vontier by 14.4% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 78,201 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,852,000 after purchasing an additional 9,833 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in Vontier by 14.4% during the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 20,881 shares of the company’s stock valued at $762,000 after purchasing an additional 2,633 shares during the period. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vontier in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $98,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.83% of the company’s stock.

Vontier Price Performance

Vontier stock opened at $33.47 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $4.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.26. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $37.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $36.39. Vontier Co. has a 1 year low of $31.22 and a 1 year high of $45.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

Vontier (NYSE:VNT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $776.80 million for the quarter. Vontier had a return on equity of 43.22% and a net margin of 14.17%. On average, research analysts forecast that Vontier Co. will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Vontier Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.025 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $0.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.30%. Vontier’s dividend payout ratio is currently 3.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays increased their price target on Vontier from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Vontier from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Vontier in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $47.00 price target for the company. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Vontier from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Vontier from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Two equities 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.43.

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.