Vident Advisory LLC Has $461,000 Position in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Vident Advisory LLC lowered its stake in shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV - Free Report) by 37.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,141 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 3,626 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC's holdings in Fortive were worth $461,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FTV. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Fortive by 97.1% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,706 shares of the technology company's stock worth $428,000 after buying an additional 2,811 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Fortive by 131.4% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,115 shares of the technology company's stock worth $325,000 after buying an additional 2,337 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in Fortive during the fourth quarter worth about $383,000. Webster Bank N. A. boosted its holdings in Fortive by 6.6% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI boosted its holdings in Fortive by 57.7% during the fourth quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI now owns 28,863 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,165,000 after buying an additional 10,557 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.94% of the company's stock.

Fortive Stock Down 1.3%

NYSE FTV traded down $0.90 during trading on Friday, hitting $70.17. The stock had a trading volume of 4,282,229 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,585,253. The company has a market capitalization of $23.85 billion, a PE ratio of 29.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.10. The company's 50-day moving average price is $69.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $74.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.16. Fortive Co. has a 12 month low of $60.39 and a 12 month high of $83.32.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The technology company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.85. The firm had revenue of $1.47 billion for 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 business's quarterly revenue was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.83 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Fortive Co. will post 4.05 EPS for the current year.

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 paid 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 of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. Fortive's dividend payout ratio is currently 14.04%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on FTV. 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. Wall Street Zen lowered Fortive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Fortive from $85.00 to $84.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Fortive from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Fortive from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fortive presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $81.92.

Insider Transactions at Fortive

In other news, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 14,327 shares of the company'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 transaction of $1,058,478.76. Following the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 428,585 shares in the company, 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. Company insiders own 1.01% of the company's stock.

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.