Fmr LLC Lowers Stock Position in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Fmr LLC lessened its stake in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) by 46.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,583,716 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 3,085,887 shares during the period. Fmr LLC’s holdings in Fortive were worth $268,779,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Fortive in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Fortive by 186.8% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 456 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Fortive during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new stake in Fortive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA boosted its stake in Fortive by 28.6% in the fourth quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 786 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO James A. Lico sold 196,117 shares of Fortive stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.38, for a total transaction of $15,763,884.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 528,851 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,509,043.38. This trade represents a 27.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Charles E. Mclaughlin sold 32,085 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.86, for a total value of $2,530,223.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 76,126 shares in the company, valued at $6,003,296.36. This trade represents a 29.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on FTV. Barclays decreased 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, March 26th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Fortive from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Fortive from $77.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price target on Fortive from $90.00 to $81.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $83.33.

Fortive Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of FTV opened at $64.81 on Friday. Fortive Co. has a 1-year low of $60.39 and a 1-year high of $83.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $75.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $76.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.46, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.12.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 7th. The technology company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 posted $0.98 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Fortive Co. will post 4.05 EPS for the current year.

Fortive Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. Fortive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.56%.

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.