Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. Purchases New Stake in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 4,780 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $358,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Flossbach Von Storch SE raised its stake in Fortive by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Flossbach Von Storch SE now owns 11,903,240 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $892,743,000 after purchasing an additional 137,479 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Fortive by 0.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,191,915 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $644,346,000 after purchasing an additional 46,704 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in Fortive by 13.8% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 8,041,324 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $634,701,000 after acquiring an additional 977,428 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its stake in Fortive by 14,635.7% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 4,000,000 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $315,720,000 after acquiring an additional 3,972,855 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Fortive by 3.1% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,444,205 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $271,851,000 after acquiring an additional 103,530 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.94% of the company’s stock.

Fortive Trading Up 0.2 %

Fortive stock opened at $79.73 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Fortive Co. has a one year low of $66.15 and a one year high of $87.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.66 billion, a PE ratio of 33.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.15. The business’s fifty day moving average is $78.70 and its 200 day moving average is $76.53.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 7th. The technology company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $0.98 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Fortive Co. will post 4.05 EPS for the current year.

Fortive Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on FTV shares. StockNews.com downgraded Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of Fortive in a report on Monday, November 18th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Fortive from $77.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Fortive from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Fortive from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.64.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fortive

In related news, CAO Christopher M. Mulhall sold 6,493 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,283 shares in the company, valued at $1,941,425.85. The trade was a 21.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James A. Lico sold 196,117 shares of Fortive stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.38, for a total value of $15,763,884.46. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 528,851 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,509,043.38. This trade represents a 27.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 208,298 shares of company stock worth $16,740,998 in the last quarter. 1.01% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Fortive

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.