Fortive (NYSE:FTV) SVP Peter Underwood Sells 48,442 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Fortive SVP Peter Underwood sold 48,442 shares at an average price of $64.60, generating approximately $3.13 million. The transaction reduced his ownership by 37.98%, leaving him with 79,118 shares.
• Fortive reported quarterly EPS of $0.77, beating estimates by $0.07, while revenue of $1.11 billion exceeded forecasts and increased 7.8% year over year.
• Shares recently traded at $66.77 near their 12-month high, while analysts maintained an overall “Hold” rating with a consensus price target of $64.36. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.07 per share.

Fortive Corporation (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) SVP Peter Underwood sold 48,442 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.60, for a total transaction of $3,129,353.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 79,118 shares in the company, valued at $5,111,022.80. The trade was a 37.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Fortive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FTV traded up $1.53 during trading on Monday, hitting $66.77. 3,835,360 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,498,612. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $57.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $58.71. The company has a market cap of $20.16 billion, a PE ratio of 20.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Fortive Corporation has a 12-month low of $49.03 and a 12-month high of $67.30.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The technology company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $1.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.07 billion. Fortive had a return on equity of 15.79% and a net margin of 14.83%. Fortive's quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.68 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Fortive Corporation will post 3.12 EPS for the current year.

Fortive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th were given a dividend of $0.07 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 4th. This is an increase from Fortive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Fortive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.33%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fortive

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Arkadios Wealth Advisors raised its holdings in Fortive by 2.1% in the first quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 9,047 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $500,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. increased its position in shares of Fortive by 86.8% in the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 467 shares of the technology company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Fortive by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 11,127 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $680,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. increased its holdings in Fortive by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 5,604 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $310,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA raised its position in Fortive by 59.2% in the first quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 702 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares during the period. 94.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Fortive from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday. Argus reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $68.00 price objective on shares of Fortive in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Truist Financial reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $65.00 price objective (up from $63.00) on shares of Fortive in a report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Fortive from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Mizuho set a $55.00 price target on shares of Fortive in a research report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $64.36.

About Fortive

Fortive Corporation NYSE: FTV is a diversified industrial technology company that develops and provides products, software and services designed to improve the productivity, safety, reliability and efficiency of businesses and public-sector organizations. Its offerings support customers in industries including manufacturing, healthcare, utilities, transportation, commercial facilities and government.

The company's portfolio includes electronic test and measurement equipment, calibration and asset-management solutions, workplace and facility-management software, engineering and infrastructure software, product identification and traceability systems, and healthcare technology.

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