USS Investment Management Ltd Raises Stock Holdings in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

USS Investment Management Ltd lifted its position in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV - Free Report) by 533.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 87,402 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 73,602 shares during the period. USS Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Fortive were worth $6,556,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of FTV. Voloridge Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Fortive by 80.1% during the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 1,350,918 shares of the technology company's stock worth $101,319,000 after buying an additional 600,875 shares in the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC bought a new position in Fortive during the 4th quarter worth about $20,869,000. Woodline Partners LP increased its position in Fortive by 44.7% during the 4th quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 1,132,722 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $84,954,000 after purchasing an additional 349,763 shares during the period. Sone Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fortive in the 4th quarter valued at about $11,781,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fortive by 286.8% in the 4th quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 63,876 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $4,791,000 after purchasing an additional 47,363 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.94% of the company's stock.

Fortive Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:FTV traded up $0.99 on Tuesday, hitting $70.66. 882,087 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,535,188. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.10. 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 Co. has a 1-year low of $60.39 and a 1-year high of $83.32. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $69.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $74.80.

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

Fortive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 0.45%. Fortive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on FTV. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Fortive from $88.00 to $82.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered Fortive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Fortive from $84.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Barclays cut their target price on Fortive from $85.00 to $84.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Fortive from $73.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $81.92.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO James A. Lico sold 175,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 $31,029,554. This represents a 28.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 14,327 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 51,750 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 236,595 shares of company stock valued at $17,473,123. 1.01% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.