Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV - Free Report) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 832,888 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 35,688 shares during the quarter. Fortive comprises approximately 1.4% of Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.24% of Fortive worth $61,326,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of FTV. abrdn plc grew its holdings in Fortive by 2.9% during the third quarter. abrdn plc now owns 165,769 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $12,293,000 after purchasing an additional 4,660 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. increased its holdings in Fortive by 48.6% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 441,404 shares of the technology company's stock worth $32,735,000 after buying an additional 144,283 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Fortive by 8.4% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 159,045 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $11,795,000 after purchasing an additional 12,342 shares during the last quarter. Pathstone Family Office LLC increased its holdings in shares of Fortive by 87.2% in the third quarter. Pathstone Family Office LLC now owns 31,436 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,367,000 after purchasing an additional 14,639 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aviva PLC increased its holdings in shares of Fortive by 0.3% in the third quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 106,279 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $7,882,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.95% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fortive

In other news, CFO Charles E. Mclaughlin sold 40,837 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.28, for a total transaction of $3,523,416.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 61,855 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,336,849.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 9,106 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.50, for a total value of $787,669.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 36,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,162,267. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Charles E. Mclaughlin sold 40,837 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.28, for a total value of $3,523,416.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 61,855 shares in the company, valued at $5,336,849.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 63,937 shares of company stock valued at $5,475,122. 0.95% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Fortive Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE FTV traded up $0.52 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $85.88. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,599,064 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,627,772. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $81.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $74.81. The stock has a market cap of $30.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.13. Fortive Co. has a 52 week low of $62.70 and a 52 week high of $86.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 2.05 and a quick ratio of 1.75.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The technology company reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. Fortive had a net margin of 14.27% and a return on equity of 12.12%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.88 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Fortive Co. will post 3.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fortive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.37%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 22nd. Fortive's dividend payout ratio is presently 13.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of Fortive in a report on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $99.00 price objective on the stock. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Fortive from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Fortive from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Fortive from $79.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Vertical Research downgraded shares of Fortive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Six research 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, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $83.14.

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.