OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Acquires 26,200 Shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV - Free Report) by 41.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 89,300 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 26,200 shares during the period. OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC's holdings in Fortive were worth $6,698,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Parvin Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Fortive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fortive in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Fortive during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new stake in Fortive during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its holdings in Fortive by 229.6% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 501 shares of the technology company's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. 94.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 value of $457,997.76. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 47,141 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,795,793.32. This trade represents a 10.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James A. Lico sold 175,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was 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 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 worth $33,237,008 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.01% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on FTV shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Fortive from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Fortive from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. BNP Paribas lowered shares of Fortive from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $67.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Fortive from $90.00 to $81.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Fortive from $73.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $81.92.

Fortive Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE FTV traded up $0.78 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $73.26. The company had a trading volume of 3,225,396 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,494,326. Fortive Co. has a 1-year low of $60.39 and a 1-year high of $83.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm's 50 day moving average is $69.79 and its 200-day moving average is $74.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.10.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.85. The firm had revenue of $1.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. Fortive had a return on equity of 13.15% and a net margin of 13.36%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.83 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Fortive Co. will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fortive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders 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 presently 14.04%.

About Fortive

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.