Franklin Resources Inc. Has $215.77 Million Stock Position in Vontier Corporation $VNT

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Vontier Corporation (NYSE:VNT) by 11.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,803,510 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 577,914 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Vontier were worth $215,774,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Vontier by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,896,994 shares of the company’s stock valued at $709,167,000 after purchasing an additional 135,780 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in Vontier by 104.6% during the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,793,944 shares of the company’s stock worth $176,897,000 after buying an additional 2,450,723 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Vontier by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,982,770 shares of the company’s stock worth $125,184,000 after buying an additional 108,390 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Vontier by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,662,699 shares of the company’s stock worth $99,020,000 after buying an additional 16,587 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Vontier by 4,958.3% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,151,517 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,299,000 after buying an additional 2,108,983 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on VNT shares. Robert W. Baird set a $37.00 price objective on Vontier in a research note on Friday, May 8th. KeyCorp dropped their price objective on Vontier from $50.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Vontier from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Evercore set a $36.00 price objective on Vontier in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Vontier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vontier presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $42.38.

Vontier Stock Performance

VNT opened at $28.87 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $32.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.12. Vontier Corporation has a 1 year low of $27.25 and a 1 year high of $48.20. The company has a market capitalization of $4.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

Vontier (NYSE:VNT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.82 by ($0.02). Vontier had a net margin of 13.37% and a return on equity of 37.88%. The firm had revenue of $750.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $737.21 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.77 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Vontier has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.350-3.500 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.780-0.810 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Vontier Corporation will post 3.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vontier declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, May 19th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 25.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Vontier Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 4th will be paid a $0.025 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 4th. This represents a $0.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Vontier’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 3.53%.

About Vontier

Vontier is a global industrial technology company focused on advancing mobility infrastructure and transportation solutions. Established as a standalone public company in October 2020 through the spin-off of Fortive’s mobility and transportation platforms, Vontier is headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina. The company’s mission centers on delivering innovative products and services that help customers meet evolving demands in fuel retail, fleet management, and automotive service.

The company’s diversified portfolio spans several well-known brands.