Sentry Investment Management LLC Reduces Stake in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Sentry Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) by 14.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,324 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 216 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Fortive were worth $99,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Flossbach Von Storch SE grew its holdings in Fortive by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Flossbach Von Storch SE now owns 11,903,240 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $892,743,000 after buying an additional 137,479 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Fortive by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,191,915 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $644,346,000 after buying an additional 46,704 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in Fortive by 13.8% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 8,041,324 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $634,701,000 after buying an additional 977,428 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its holdings in Fortive by 14,635.7% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 4,000,000 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $315,720,000 after buying an additional 3,972,855 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in Fortive by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,444,205 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $271,851,000 after buying an additional 103,530 shares in the last quarter. 94.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fortive news, CEO James A. Lico sold 196,117 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.38, for a total transaction of $15,763,884.46. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 528,851 shares in the company, valued at $42,509,043.38. This represents a 27.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.01% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FTV has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Argus reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Fortive in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Barclays decreased their price target on Fortive from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Fortive from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Fortive in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $84.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Fortive from $77.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.64.

Fortive Price Performance

FTV opened at $79.93 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $78.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $76.38. Fortive Co. has a 12-month low of $66.15 and a 12-month high of $87.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market cap of $27.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.87, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.15.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 7th. The technology company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.05. Fortive had a return on equity of 13.15% and a net margin of 13.36%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.98 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Fortive Co. will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Fortive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.40%. Fortive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.56%.

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.