Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS Reduces Stock Position in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS reduced its holdings in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 73,772 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 2,494 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS’s holdings in Fortive were worth $5,533,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fortive in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake 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 worth $34,000 after buying an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Fortive in the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new position in shares of Fortive in the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA grew its stake 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 worth $59,000 after buying an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. 94.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fortive Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE:FTV opened at $74.84 on Friday. Fortive Co. has a one year low of $66.15 and a one year high of $86.21. 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 firm has a market cap of $25.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.16. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $78.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $76.86.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 7th. The technology company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 last year, the company posted $0.98 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Fortive Co. will post 4.05 EPS 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 issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.43%. Fortive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on FTV shares. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Fortive from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Fortive from $77.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Fortive from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com cut shares of Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Fortive from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fortive currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.64.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO James A. Lico sold 196,117 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.38, for a total transaction of $15,763,884.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 528,851 shares in the company, valued at $42,509,043.38. The trade was a 27.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 5,688 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.52, for a total transaction of $457,997.76. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 47,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,795,793.32. This trade represents a 10.77 % 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. 1.01% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.