Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC Invests $136.79 Million in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC bought a new position in shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,823,920 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $136,794,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC owned 0.53% of Fortive at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of FTV. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its position in Fortive by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 2,554 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $192,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Fortive by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,436 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,083,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the period. Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Fortive by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 1,400 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $105,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the period. Webster Bank N. A. raised its stake in Fortive by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 2,696 shares of the technology company's stock worth $202,000 after buying an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lifted its holdings in Fortive by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 13,628 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,022,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the period. 94.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO James A. Lico sold 175,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.40, for a total transaction of $12,670,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 428,585 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,029,554. This represents a 28.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 14,327 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.88, for a total transaction of $1,058,478.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 51,750 shares in the company, valued at $3,823,290. This trade represents a 21.68% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 224,414 shares of company stock worth $16,496,010. 1.01% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Fortive from $90.00 to $81.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Fortive from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Fortive from $88.00 to $82.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Fortive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Fortive from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fortive currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $81.92.

Fortive Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of NYSE FTV traded up $1.12 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $71.98. The stock had a trading volume of 2,443,949 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,552,786. The business's 50 day moving average is $69.30 and its 200-day moving average is $74.77. Fortive Co. has a 52 week low of $60.39 and a 52 week high of $83.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a market cap of $24.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.48, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.10.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.83 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Fortive Co. will post 4.05 EPS for the current year.

Fortive announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, May 27th that authorizes the company to repurchase 15,630,000 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the technology company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Fortive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. Fortive's payout ratio is 14.04%.

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.