Schechter Investment Advisors LLC Reduces Position in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Schechter Investment Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) by 5.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,456 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 343 shares during the quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Fortive were worth $484,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Fortive by 3.6% during the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 3,899 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $308,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital boosted its position in shares of Fortive by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 3,346 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $252,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the period. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Fortive by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,436 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,083,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the period. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Fortive by 1.7% during the third quarter. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC now owns 8,854 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $699,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Finally, Atria Investments Inc boosted its position in shares of Fortive by 1.6% during the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 10,591 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $836,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.94% of the company’s stock.

Fortive Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:FTV opened at $78.28 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $26.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.15. Fortive Co. has a 52 week low of $66.15 and a 52 week high of $87.10. 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 has a 50 day moving average of $78.90 and a 200 day moving average of $76.71.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 7th. The technology company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business earned $0.98 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Fortive Co. will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fortive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Fortive’s payout ratio is presently 13.56%.

Insider Transactions at Fortive

In related news, 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 47,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,795,793.32. This represents a 10.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO James A. Lico sold 196,117 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.38, for a total value of $15,763,884.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 528,851 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,509,043.38. The trade was a 27.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 243,385 shares of company stock valued at $19,508,529. Corporate insiders own 1.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FTV has been the subject of a number of research reports. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Fortive from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com lowered Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Fortive from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Fortive in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $84.00 price target for the company. Finally, Argus reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Fortive in a report on Monday, November 18th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.64.

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.