Focus Partners Wealth Boosts Position in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Focus Partners Wealth lifted its position in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV - Free Report) by 1,139.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 168,967 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 155,334 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth's holdings in Fortive were worth $12,674,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Fortive by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 406,085 shares of the technology company's stock worth $32,052,000 after purchasing an additional 10,795 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank increased its holdings in Fortive by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 75,186 shares of the technology company's stock worth $5,639,000 after purchasing an additional 3,818 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital increased its holdings in Fortive by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 3,346 shares of the technology company's stock worth $252,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Marshall & Sullivan Inc. WA increased its holdings in Fortive by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Marshall & Sullivan Inc. WA now owns 60,543 shares of the technology company's stock worth $4,541,000 after purchasing an additional 1,151 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benson Investment Management Company Inc. bought a new position in Fortive during the 4th quarter worth about $5,140,000. Institutional investors own 94.94% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fortive news, CFO Charles E. Mclaughlin sold 32,085 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 76,126 shares in the company, valued at $6,003,296.36. This trade represents a 29.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO James A. Lico sold 175,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 428,585 shares of the company's stock, valued at $31,029,554. This trade represents a 28.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 432,712 shares of company stock worth $33,237,008 over the last three months. 1.01% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Fortive Stock Up 1.1%

NYSE:FTV traded up $0.78 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $73.26. 3,225,396 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,494,327. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company has a market cap of $24.90 billion, a PE ratio of 31.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.10. Fortive Co. has a one year low of $60.39 and a one year high of $83.32. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $69.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $74.85.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the company earned $0.83 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Fortive Co. will post 4.05 EPS for the current year.

Fortive Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. Fortive's payout ratio is currently 14.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on FTV. StockNews.com cut Fortive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Fortive from $84.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Fortive from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $67.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Fortive from $73.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Fortive from $90.00 to $81.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.