John G Ullman & Associates Inc. Lowers Stake in Vontier Co. (NYSE:VNT)

John G Ullman & Associates Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Vontier Co. (NYSE:VNT) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 65,897 shares of the company’s stock after selling 600 shares during the period. John G Ullman & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Vontier were worth $2,277,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VNT. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its position in shares of Vontier by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 68,343 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,113,000 after purchasing an additional 340 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in shares of Vontier by 29.1% in the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,774 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Vontier by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 12,732 shares of the company’s stock worth $342,000 after purchasing an additional 469 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. boosted its position in shares of Vontier by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 27,747 shares of the company’s stock worth $858,000 after purchasing an additional 494 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its position in shares of Vontier by 20.3% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 3,110 shares of the company’s stock worth $100,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares in the last quarter. 95.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vontier Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VNT traded down $0.37 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $39.96. The company had a trading volume of 615,385 shares, compared to its average volume of 777,866. 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 company has a market cap of $6.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.77, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.31. Vontier Co. has a 12-month low of $26.23 and a 12-month high of $45.62. The company has a fifty day moving average of $42.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $36.43.

Vontier (NYSE:VNT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.02. Vontier had a return on equity of 60.00% and a net margin of 12.18%. The firm had revenue of $789.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $780.92 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.81 EPS. Vontier’s revenue was down 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Vontier Co. will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vontier Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were paid a $0.025 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 6th. This represents a $0.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.25%. Vontier’s payout ratio is presently 4.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on VNT shares. Argus upped their price objective on Vontier from $39.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Bank of America raised Vontier from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $37.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Vontier from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Vontier from $37.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Vontier from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.00.

Vontier 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.