V Square Quantitative Management LLC Cuts Holdings in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

V Square Quantitative Management LLC cut its position in shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) by 4.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,829 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 398 shares during the quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC’s holdings in Fortive were worth $662,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FTV. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Fortive during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Fortive by 186.8% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 456 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares during the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Fortive in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new position in Fortive in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Fortive in the third quarter valued at about $41,000. 94.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fortive Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of Fortive stock opened at $80.59 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.96 billion, a PE ratio of 32.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 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 50-day simple moving average of $77.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $75.67.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 14.35% and a return on equity of 12.56%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.98 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Fortive Co. will post 3.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fortive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be given 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 12.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on FTV. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of 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 boosted their target price on shares of Fortive from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target 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. Argus reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Fortive in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Fortive in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $84.00 price target on the stock. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Fortive presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.64.

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.