Tredje AP fonden Increases Stake in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Tredje AP fonden raised its position in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) by 36.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 340,000 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 90,000 shares during the period. Tredje AP fonden owned 0.10% of Fortive worth $25,500,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Insider Transactions at Fortive

In other news, CEO James A. Lico sold 196,117 shares of the firm’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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 528,851 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,509,043.38. This trade represents a 27.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Charles E. Mclaughlin sold 32,085 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.86, for a total transaction of $2,530,223.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 76,126 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,003,296.36. This trade represents a 29.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 243,385 shares of company stock worth $19,508,529. Company insiders own 1.01% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup downgraded shares of Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $92.00 to $86.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Fortive in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $84.00 target price on the stock. Argus reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Fortive in a research report on Monday, November 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Fortive from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.64.

Fortive Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:FTV opened at $73.87 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $25.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.16. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $78.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $76.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Fortive Co. has a 1-year low of $66.15 and a 1-year high of $87.10.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 7th. The technology company reported $1.17 earnings per share 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 quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.98 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Fortive Co. will post 4.05 EPS for the current year.

Fortive Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Fortive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.