Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) Stake Lessened by Graham Capital Management L.P.

Graham Capital Management L.P. reduced its holdings in shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV - Free Report) by 54.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,004 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 17,996 shares during the quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P.'s holdings in Fortive were worth $1,125,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its holdings in Fortive by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 2,554 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $192,000 after acquiring an additional 127 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 valued at $252,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Fortive by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,436 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,083,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Fortive by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 1,400 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $105,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. increased its holdings in Fortive by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 2,696 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $202,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. 94.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fortive

In other news, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 5,688 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.52, for a total transaction of $457,997.76. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 47,141 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,795,793.32. The trade was a 10.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO James A. Lico sold 196,117 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.38, for a total transaction of $15,763,884.46. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 528,851 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,509,043.38. The trade was a 27.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 432,712 shares of company stock valued at $33,237,008 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.01% of the company's stock.

Fortive Trading Up 1.1%

Fortive stock traded up $0.78 during trading on Friday, reaching $73.26. The company had a trading volume of 3,225,396 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,494,327. Fortive Co. has a 12-month low of $60.39 and a 12-month high of $83.32. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $69.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $74.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.04, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.10. 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 (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting 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 the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.83 earnings per share. Fortive's revenue was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Fortive Co. will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fortive Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. Fortive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FTV has been the topic of several analyst reports. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Fortive from $73.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Fortive from $85.00 to $84.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Fortive from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Fortive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fortive has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $81.92.

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.