Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) Shares Sold by Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC

Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC cut its stake in shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV - Free Report) by 12.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 239,244 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 32,737 shares during the quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC owned about 0.07% of Fortive worth $17,508,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in FTV. Parvin Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fortive in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. American National Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Fortive in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Fortive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Fortive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its stake in Fortive by 229.6% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 501 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares during the period. 94.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on FTV. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Fortive from $73.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Citigroup lowered their price target 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. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Fortive from $88.00 to $82.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $86.00 price objective (up previously from $84.00) on shares of Fortive in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, BNP Paribas lowered Fortive from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $67.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $82.62.

Insider Activity at Fortive

In other news, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 14,327 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.88, for a total value of $1,058,478.76. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO James A. Lico sold 175,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.40, for a total value of $12,670,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 428,585 shares of the company's stock, 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. 0.92% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Fortive Stock Down 2.3%

Shares of FTV opened at $69.32 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $23.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.37, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.11. Fortive Co. has a 12 month low of $60.39 and a 12 month high of $83.32. The stock's 50 day moving average is $69.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.85. The firm had revenue of $1.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. Fortive had a return on equity of 13.15% and a net margin of 13.36%. The business's revenue was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.83 EPS. 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. Investors 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 0.46%. Fortive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.04%.

Fortive declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, May 27th that allows the company to repurchase 15,630,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the technology company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Fortive Company Profile

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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