Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) Shares Acquired by Toronto Dominion Bank

Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its stake in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV - Free Report) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 186,113 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,914 shares during the quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank owned about 0.05% of Fortive worth $13,958,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Fortive during the 4th quarter valued at $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 stake in Fortive during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Quarry LP increased its position in shares of Fortive by 229.6% in the fourth 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. Finally, BankPlus Trust Department bought a new position in shares of Fortive during the fourth quarter valued at about $59,000. 94.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 14,327 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 51,750 shares in the company, valued at $3,823,290. This represents a 21.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 428,585 shares of the company's stock, valued at $31,029,554. The trade was a 28.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.01% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Fortive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FTV traded down $0.90 during trading on Friday, hitting $70.17. 4,282,229 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,580,472. The company has a market cap of $23.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.73, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Fortive Co. has a 52-week low of $60.39 and a 52-week high of $83.32. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $69.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $74.72.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The technology company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.85. Fortive had a net margin of 13.36% and a return on equity of 13.15%. The business had revenue of $1.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.49 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.83 EPS. The business's revenue was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Fortive Co. will post 4.05 EPS for the current year.

Fortive announced that its board 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 repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Fortive Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. Fortive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on FTV. Citigroup cut their price objective on Fortive from $84.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Fortive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays cut their price objective on Fortive from $85.00 to $84.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Fortive from $73.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, BNP Paribas lowered Fortive from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $67.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company 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.