Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Trims Stake in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership trimmed its holdings in shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) by 48.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,615,157 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 1,502,259 shares during the quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership’s holdings in Fortive were worth $121,137,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in Fortive by 1,005.9% during the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,937,153 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $152,899,000 after buying an additional 1,761,983 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in shares of Fortive by 13.8% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 8,041,324 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $634,701,000 after purchasing an additional 977,428 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP increased its holdings in Fortive by 1,014.1% in the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 924,671 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $72,984,000 after purchasing an additional 841,671 shares during the last quarter. Amundi raised its position in Fortive by 22.4% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,785,483 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $137,036,000 after purchasing an additional 326,652 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Fortive by 23.9% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,574,289 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $118,292,000 after purchasing an additional 303,788 shares in the last quarter. 94.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Fortive

In other news, CFO Charles E. Mclaughlin sold 32,085 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.86, for a total transaction of $2,530,223.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 76,126 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,003,296.36. This represents a 29.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 3,002 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.05, for a total value of $237,308.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 42,373 shares in the company, valued at $3,349,585.65. This trade represents a 6.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 243,385 shares of company stock worth $19,508,529. Corporate insiders own 1.01% of the company’s stock.

Fortive Stock Down 0.7 %

Fortive stock opened at $74.66 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $25.41 billion, a PE ratio of 31.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $78.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $76.93. Fortive Co. has a 1-year low of $66.15 and a 1-year high of $86.21.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 7th. The technology company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.05. Fortive had a return on equity of 13.15% and a net margin of 13.36%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.98 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Fortive Co. will post 4.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fortive Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.43%. Fortive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Fortive from $77.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Fortive from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Fortive from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Citigroup lowered shares of Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $92.00 to $86.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Fortive from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Fortive currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.18.

Fortive Profile

Fortive Corporation designs, develops, manufactures, and services professional and engineered products, software, and services in the United States, China, and internationally. It operates in three segments: Intelligent Operating Solutions, Precision Technologies, and Advanced Healthcare Solutions. The Intelligent Operating Solutions segment provides advanced instrumentation, software, and services, including electrical test and measurement, facility and asset lifecycle software applications, and connected worker safety and compliance solutions for manufacturing, process industries, healthcare, utilities and power, communications and electronics, and other industries.