Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. Buys Shares of 239,700 Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV)

Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 239,700 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $17,541,000. Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. owned approximately 0.07% of Fortive as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FTV. Dodge & Cox purchased a new stake in shares of Fortive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $583,493,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Fortive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $412,445,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Fortive by 164.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,730,161 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $654,763,000 after buying an additional 5,429,566 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Fortive by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 42,947,135 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $3,221,036,000 after buying an additional 3,810,997 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Third Point LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fortive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $142,500,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.94% of the company's stock.

Fortive Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of Fortive stock opened at $70.73 on Wednesday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $69.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $73.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.04 billion, a PE ratio of 31.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.11. Fortive Corporation has a 1-year low of $60.39 and a 1-year high of $83.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.85. The business had revenue of $1.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.49 billion. Fortive had a net margin of 12.90% and a return on equity of 13.19%. The company's revenue was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.83 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Fortive Corporation will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Fortive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. Fortive's payout ratio is 14.04%.

Fortive announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 27th that authorizes the company to repurchase 15,630,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the technology company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup dropped their target price 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. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Fortive from $90.00 to $81.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Fortive from $73.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Fortive from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $86.00 target price (up previously from $84.00) on shares of Fortive in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Fortive currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $82.62.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 14,327 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.88, for a total transaction of $1,058,478.76. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 51,750 shares in the company, valued at $3,823,290. This trade represents a 21.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO James A. Lico sold 175,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.40, for a total transaction of $12,670,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 428,585 shares in the company, valued at $31,029,554. The trade was a 28.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.92% of the company's stock.

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.

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