US Asset Management LLC Acquires Shares of 4,908 Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

US Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 4,908 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $361,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of FTV. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Fortive by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,855,952 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $136,654,000 after buying an additional 35,120 shares during the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fortive during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $220,000. Lincoln National Corp increased its position in Fortive by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 5,412 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $399,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. acquired a new stake in Fortive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,474,000. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fortive during the fourth quarter worth $283,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on FTV. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Fortive from $101.00 to $98.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Barclays increased their price target on Fortive from $89.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Fortive from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $95.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Mizuho increased their price target on Fortive from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fortive currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.46.

Insider Transactions at Fortive

In other Fortive news, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 9,106 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.50, for a total transaction of $787,669.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 36,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,162,267. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Tamara S. Newcombe sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.00, for a total transaction of $425,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 55,017 shares in the company, valued at $4,676,445. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 9,106 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.50, for a total transaction of $787,669.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 36,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,162,267. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 63,937 shares of company stock worth $5,475,122. 0.95% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Fortive Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:FTV traded up $0.92 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $77.45. 1,074,568 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,704,304. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $82.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $76.27. The stock has a market cap of $27.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Fortive Co. has a 12-month low of $63.05 and a 12-month high of $87.10.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The technology company reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.53 billion. Fortive had a return on equity of 12.22% and a net margin of 14.68%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Fortive Co. will post 3.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Fortive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 31st. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.41%. Fortive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.65%.

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.