Sone Capital Management LLC Takes Position in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Sone Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 157,085 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $11,781,000. Fortive accounts for about 1.5% of Sone Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 18th largest position.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of FTV. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Fortive by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,085 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $231,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Fortive by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,823 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $362,000 after buying an additional 299 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Fortive by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,011 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $976,000 after buying an additional 282 shares during the period. Guinness Asset Management LTD raised its holdings in Fortive by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 7,041 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $528,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the period. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in Fortive by 11.3% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 37,731 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,830,000 after buying an additional 3,839 shares during the period. 94.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fortive

In other Fortive news, CEO James A. Lico sold 175,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were 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 directly owns 428,585 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $31,029,554. This represents a 28.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 42,373 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,349,585.65. This represents a 6.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 432,712 shares of company stock valued at $33,237,008. Insiders own 1.01% of the company's stock.

Fortive Stock Down 2.5%

Shares of NYSE:FTV traded down $1.83 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $70.12. The stock had a trading volume of 3,182,069 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,521,664. Fortive Co. has a 1 year low of $60.39 and a 1 year high of $83.32. The firm's 50 day moving average is $69.67 and its 200-day moving average is $74.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.10.

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

Fortive Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. Fortive's dividend payout ratio is presently 14.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup reduced their price objective 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. BNP Paribas lowered shares of Fortive from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $67.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of 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 cut their price target on shares of Fortive from $88.00 to $82.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target 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. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $81.92.

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.