Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV - Free Report) by 17.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 196,336 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 40,384 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned about 0.06% of Fortive worth $14,725,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dodge & Cox purchased a new position in Fortive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $583,493,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Fortive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $412,445,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Fortive by 164.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,730,161 shares of the technology company's stock worth $654,763,000 after buying an additional 5,429,566 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Fortive by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 42,947,135 shares of the technology company's stock worth $3,221,036,000 after acquiring an additional 3,810,997 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Third Point LLC bought a new position in shares of Fortive during the fourth quarter worth $142,500,000. Institutional investors own 94.94% of the company's stock.

Fortive Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE FTV traded up $0.78 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $73.26. 3,225,396 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,494,327. The company's 50 day moving average price is $69.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $74.85. Fortive Co. has a 12 month low of $60.39 and a 12 month high of $83.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.91 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, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.85. Fortive had a net margin of 13.36% and a return on equity of 13.15%. The business had revenue of $1.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.83 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Fortive Co. will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fortive Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on FTV. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Fortive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Fortive from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup decreased their target price on Fortive from $84.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Fortive from $73.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, BNP Paribas downgraded Fortive from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $67.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fortive currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $81.92.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 5,688 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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. This trade represents a 10.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Charles E. Mclaughlin sold 32,085 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.86, for a total value of $2,530,223.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 76,126 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,003,296.36. The trade was a 29.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 432,712 shares of company stock valued at $33,237,008. Insiders own 1.01% of the company's stock.

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.