First Trust Advisors LP Purchases 72,787 Shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV - Free Report) by 59.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 195,042 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 72,787 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.06% of Fortive worth $14,628,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of FTV. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in Fortive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Fortive by 186.8% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 456 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 297 shares during the period. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Fortive in the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new stake in shares of Fortive in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA increased its position in Fortive by 28.6% during the fourth quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 786 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.94% of the company's stock.

Fortive Price Performance

FTV stock traded down $2.96 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $66.73. The company had a trading volume of 8,957,636 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,386,759. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $71.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $75.35. Fortive Co. has a 12-month low of $60.39 and a 12-month high of $83.32. The company has a market capitalization of $22.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.12. 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 earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The technology company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.85. Fortive had a return on equity of 13.15% and a net margin of 13.36%. 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 previous year, the business earned $0.83 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Fortive Co. will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Fortive Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. Fortive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fortive news, CFO Charles E. Mclaughlin sold 32,085 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.86, for a total transaction of $2,530,223.10. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 76,126 shares in the company, valued at $6,003,296.36. The trade was a 29.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Christopher M. Mulhall sold 6,493 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.95, for a total transaction of $519,115.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,283 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,941,425.85. This trade represents a 21.10 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 243,385 shares of company stock valued at $19,508,529 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.01% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Fortive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. BNP Paribas cut shares of Fortive from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $67.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Fortive from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Fortive from $77.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Fortive from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" 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.