Magnetar Financial LLC Makes New Investment in Vontier Co. (NYSE:VNT)

Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new position in Vontier Co. (NYSE:VNT) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 14,469 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $528,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in VNT. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Vontier by 2,814.5% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 281,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,164,000 after purchasing an additional 272,166 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Vontier in the 4th quarter worth approximately $9,363,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its stake in shares of Vontier by 42.1% in the 4th quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 705,740 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,738,000 after purchasing an additional 209,227 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Vontier by 398.4% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 191,285 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,454,000 after purchasing an additional 152,904 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Vontier by 1,414.9% in the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 159,865 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,394,000 after purchasing an additional 149,312 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.83% of the company’s stock.

Vontier Stock Performance

Shares of VNT opened at $33.69 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $36.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $36.34. Vontier Co. has a 52 week low of $31.22 and a 52 week high of $45.62. The company has a market capitalization of $5.01 billion, a PE ratio of 12.25, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.51.

Vontier (NYSE:VNT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.01. Vontier had a net margin of 14.17% and a return on equity of 43.22%. The firm had revenue of $776.80 million for the quarter. Research analysts expect that Vontier Co. will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vontier Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid a $0.025 dividend. 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, March 6th. Vontier’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 3.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. 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 research note on Thursday, December 12th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price 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. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Vontier from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Vontier in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $47.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Vontier from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Vontier currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.67.

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.