Vontier Co. (NYSE:VNT) Stock Position Reduced by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. cut its holdings in Vontier Co. (NYSE:VNT) by 5.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,298,046 shares of the company’s stock after selling 76,288 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.84% of Vontier worth $44,847,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. O Brien Greene & Co. Inc increased its stake in Vontier by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. O Brien Greene & Co. Inc now owns 172,274 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,952,000 after acquiring an additional 1,433 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Vontier by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 72,799 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,515,000 after acquiring an additional 1,196 shares during the last quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Vontier in the 4th quarter worth approximately $726,000. California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Vontier by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 305,447 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,553,000 after acquiring an additional 11,114 shares during the period. Finally, Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Vontier in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,451,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.83% of the company’s stock.

Vontier Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VNT opened at $41.52 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.44, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The business has a 50-day moving average of $42.76 and a 200-day moving average of $36.99. Vontier Co. has a fifty-two week low of $26.65 and a fifty-two week high of $45.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.23, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.31.

Vontier (NYSE:VNT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $789.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $780.92 million. Vontier had a net margin of 12.18% and a return on equity of 60.00%. Vontier’s revenue was down 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.81 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Vontier Co. will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vontier Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $0.025 per share. This represents a $0.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 6th. Vontier’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 4.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on VNT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Vontier from $37.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Vontier from $40.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Argus increased their price target on Vontier from $39.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Vontier from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Vontier from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.00.

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.