Clark Capital Management Group Inc. Lowers Position in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. lessened its stake in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV - Free Report) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,004,143 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 9,406 shares during the quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. owned approximately 0.29% of Fortive worth $75,311,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Parvin Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fortive in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fortive in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Fortive in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Quarry LP raised its stake in Fortive by 229.6% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 501 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new stake in Fortive during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.94% of the company's stock.

Fortive Stock Up 4.7%

Fortive stock traded up $3.29 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $73.81. 4,190,830 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,457,943. 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 12 month low of $60.39 and a 12 month high of $83.32. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $70.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $74.91. The company has a market cap of $25.09 billion, a PE ratio of 31.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.10.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) last released 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 company 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%. Fortive's revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.83 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Fortive Co. will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fortive Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FTV has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Fortive from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. BNP Paribas downgraded 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Fortive from $90.00 to $73.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Fortive from $85.00 to $84.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Fortive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $80.85.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fortive news, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 3,002 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.05, for a total transaction of $237,308.10. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 42,373 shares in the company, valued at $3,349,585.65. This represents a 6.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Charles E. Mclaughlin sold 32,085 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 243,385 shares of company stock valued at $19,508,529. 1.01% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.