D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Has $14.67 Million Stock Position in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) by 3.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 195,544 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 5,762 shares during the quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned 0.06% of Fortive worth $14,666,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Fortive by 2.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 406,085 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $32,052,000 after acquiring an additional 10,795 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in Fortive by 26.4% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 37,502 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,832,000 after purchasing an additional 7,829 shares during the period. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. bought a new stake in Fortive during the 4th quarter valued at $358,000. Czech National Bank raised its holdings in Fortive by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 75,186 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $5,639,000 after buying an additional 3,818 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benson Investment Management Company Inc. bought a new position in shares of Fortive in the fourth quarter valued at $5,140,000. 94.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Fortive Price Performance

Shares of Fortive stock opened at $73.70 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.05 billion, a PE ratio of 31.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Fortive Co. has a 12 month low of $60.39 and a 12 month high of $83.32. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $69.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $74.89.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.85. Fortive had a return on equity of 13.15% and a net margin of 13.36%. The business had revenue of $1.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.83 earnings per share. Fortive’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Fortive Co. will post 4.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fortive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. Fortive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Fortive from $84.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Fortive from $88.00 to $82.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Fortive from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. BNP Paribas lowered Fortive from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $67.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on Fortive from $85.00 to $84.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.85.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 14,327 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.88, for a total value of $1,058,478.76. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 51,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,823,290. This trade represents a 21.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 5,688 shares of Fortive stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.52, for a total transaction of $457,997.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 47,141 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,795,793.32. The trade was a 10.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 257,712 shares of company stock worth $20,567,008 in the last 90 days. 1.01% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Fortive

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.