Veralto (NYSE:VLTO) Hits New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Veralto Co. (NYSE:VLTO) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $114.79 and last traded at $114.79, with a volume of 2084 shares. The stock had previously closed at $110.93.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on VLTO. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Veralto from $117.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Veralto from $104.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Veralto from $98.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Veralto from $101.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Veralto in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $118.00 target price for the company. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $108.00.

Veralto Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 1.96. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $110.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $102.60. The stock has a market cap of $26.99 billion and a P/E ratio of 34.77.

Veralto (NYSE:VLTO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.05. Veralto had a return on equity of 58.82% and a net margin of 15.60%. The company had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.80 earnings per share. Veralto’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Veralto Co. will post 3.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Veralto Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 27th will be issued a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.33%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 27th. Veralto’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.29%.

Insider Transactions at Veralto

In related news, SVP Surekha Trivedi sold 753 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.72, for a total value of $80,360.16. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 12,671 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,352,249.12. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Veralto news, CEO Jennifer Honeycutt sold 13,191 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.98, for a total value of $1,477,128.18. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 138,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,514,381.08. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Surekha Trivedi sold 753 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.72, for a total transaction of $80,360.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 12,671 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,352,249.12. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 39,039 shares of company stock worth $4,310,335. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Veralto

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Goodman Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in Veralto during the second quarter worth about $26,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Veralto in the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Veralto during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. boosted its stake in Veralto by 11,100.0% in the 2nd quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 336 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 333 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Veralto by 692.3% in the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 309 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

About Veralto

Veralto Corporation provides water analytics, water treatment, marking and coding, and packaging and color services worldwide. It operates through two segments, Water Quality (WQ) and Product Quality & Innovation (PQI). The WQ segment offers precision instrumentation and water treatment technologies to measure, analyze, and treat water in residential, commercial, municipal, industrial, research, and natural resource applications through the Hach, Trojan Technologies, and ChemTreat brands.