Brevan Howard Capital Management LP Purchases Shares of 59,533 Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Brevan Howard Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 59,533 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $4,465,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Fortive during the third quarter valued at approximately $456,000. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Fortive by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 16,513 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,303,000 after acquiring an additional 829 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Fortive by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 406,085 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $32,052,000 after purchasing an additional 10,795 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Fortive by 186.8% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 456 shares of the technology company's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Fortive by 23.9% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,574,289 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $118,292,000 after purchasing an additional 303,788 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.94% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fortive news, CEO James A. Lico sold 196,117 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 528,851 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,509,043.38. The trade was a 27.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 3,002 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.05, for a total transaction of $237,308.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 42,373 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,349,585.65. The trade was a 6.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 243,385 shares of company stock worth $19,508,529. 1.01% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Fortive Stock Performance

FTV traded up $0.62 on Friday, reaching $70.45. The company had a trading volume of 3,456,609 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,450,986. The stock has a market cap of $23.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.16. Fortive Co. has a fifty-two week low of $60.39 and a fifty-two week high of $83.32. The company's fifty day moving average is $70.07 and its 200 day moving average is $74.91.

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

Fortive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. Fortive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on FTV. StockNews.com lowered Fortive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Fortive from $90.00 to $73.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. BNP Paribas cut shares of Fortive from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $67.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Fortive from $84.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Fortive from $85.00 to $84.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Fortive currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $80.85.

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.