Inputting decimal values from Matlab to Verilog

I am trying to write a driver for some motors using an Altera DE1 board. 
The driver is supposed to take distance input from Matlab and move the 
motors accordingly.  Currently, I am inputting a series of five numbers; 
43215 would be 432.15 cm.

I store the numbers in a reg x_distance[39:0].  How do I go about 
converting these numbers into the desired decimals?  OR is there a way 
to input decimals directly from Matlab.