National Pension Service Cuts Stake in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

National Pension Service lowered its position in shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 456,506 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 20,112 shares during the period. National Pension Service’s holdings in Fortive were worth $34,238,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Fortive during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Fortive by 186.8% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 456 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 297 shares during the period. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Fortive during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new stake in Fortive during the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Fortive during the third quarter valued at about $57,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.94% of the company’s stock.

Fortive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FTV opened at $79.73 on Friday. 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 company has a market cap of $27.66 billion, a PE ratio of 33.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.15. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $78.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $76.48. Fortive Co. has a fifty-two week low of $66.15 and a fifty-two week high of $87.10.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last released its 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 return on equity of 13.15% and a net margin of 13.36%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.98 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Fortive Co. will post 4.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fortive Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Fortive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Argus reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Fortive in a research report on Monday, November 18th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Fortive in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $84.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Fortive from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup downgraded 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. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on Fortive from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.64.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Christopher M. Mulhall sold 6,493 shares of Fortive stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.95, for a total transaction of $519,115.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,283 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,941,425.85. The trade was a 21.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 5,688 shares of Fortive stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.52, for a total value 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 represents a 10.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 208,298 shares of company stock valued at $16,740,998 over the last quarter. 1.01% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.