EntryPoint Capital LLC Takes $347,000 Position in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 4,628 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $347,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FTV. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fortive during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised 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 purchasing an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Fortive during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new stake in Fortive during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 175 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on FTV. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Fortive from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Fortive from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Fortive from $77.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Fortive from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fortive currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.18.

Fortive Stock Performance

NYSE:FTV opened at $75.17 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $78.56 and its 200-day moving average is $76.95. The stock has a market cap of $25.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.16. Fortive Co. has a 1-year low of $66.15 and a 1-year high of $86.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 7th. The technology company reported $1.17 earnings per share (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 in the previous year, the company posted $0.98 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Fortive Co. will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current 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 dividend yield of 0.43%. Fortive’s payout ratio is 13.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Charles E. Mclaughlin sold 32,085 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.86, for a total transaction of $2,530,223.10. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 76,126 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,003,296.36. This represents a 29.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 3,002 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.05, for a total transaction of $237,308.10. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 42,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,349,585.65. The trade was a 6.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 243,385 shares of company stock valued at $19,508,529 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.01% of the company’s stock.

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.