Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Purchases 5,429,566 Shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV - Free Report) by 164.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,730,161 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 5,429,566 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned 2.52% of Fortive worth $654,763,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Fortive in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Fortive by 186.8% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 456 shares of the technology company's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Fortive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new position in Fortive during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA increased its stake in Fortive by 28.6% in the 4th quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 786 shares of the technology company's stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.94% of the company's stock.

Fortive Trading Down 0.4 %

Fortive stock traded down $0.25 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $68.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 643,843 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,349,020. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.16. The company has a 50 day moving average of $71.83 and a 200-day moving average of $75.39. Fortive Co. has a one year low of $60.39 and a one year high of $83.32. The stock has a market cap of $23.40 billion, a PE ratio of 29.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.12.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 7th. The technology company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.05. Fortive had a net margin of 13.36% and a return on equity of 13.15%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.98 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Fortive Co. will post 4.05 EPS for the current year.

Fortive Announces Dividend

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 paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. Fortive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on FTV shares. Barclays lowered their target price on Fortive from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. StockNews.com cut shares of Fortive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Fortive from $84.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Fortive from $77.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Fortive from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $81.92.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Charles E. Mclaughlin sold 32,085 shares of Fortive stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.86, for a total transaction of $2,530,223.10. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 76,126 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,003,296.36. This trade represents a 29.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 5,688 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.52, for a total value of $457,997.76. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 47,141 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,795,793.32. This represents a 10.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 243,385 shares of company stock worth $19,508,529 in the last ninety days. 1.01% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.