Visionary Horizons LLC Grows Position in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Visionary Horizons LLC raised its position in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV - Free Report) by 91.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,360 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,994 shares during the period. Visionary Horizons LLC's holdings in Fortive were worth $612,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CX Institutional acquired a new stake in shares of Fortive in the first quarter valued at about $189,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Fortive by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 45,406 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $3,323,000 after acquiring an additional 2,161 shares in the last quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Fortive by 9.6% in the 1st quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 16,109 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,179,000 after acquiring an additional 1,405 shares during the last quarter. RDA Financial Network lifted its stake in Fortive by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. RDA Financial Network now owns 4,965 shares of the technology company's stock worth $363,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Generali Investments Management Co LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Fortive by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Generali Investments Management Co LLC now owns 13,229 shares of the technology company's stock worth $968,000 after purchasing an additional 563 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.94% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO James A. Lico sold 175,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.40, for a total transaction of $12,670,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 428,585 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $31,029,554. This represents a 28.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 14,327 shares of Fortive stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company's stock, valued at $3,823,290. This trade represents a 21.68% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.92% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on FTV. Citigroup cut their price target on Fortive from $84.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Fortive from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Fortive from $88.00 to $82.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Fortive from $73.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and set a $86.00 price objective (up from $84.00) on shares of Fortive in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Fortive has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $82.62.

Fortive Trading Down 0.5%

FTV stock traded down $0.39 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $70.91. 1,939,772 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,635,834. Fortive Co. has a 12-month low of $60.39 and a 12-month high of $83.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.05, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.11. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $69.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $74.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $1.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.49 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.83 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Fortive Co. will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Fortive Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders 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 0.45%. Fortive's dividend payout ratio is currently 14.04%.

Fortive 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.