James A. Lico Sells 196,117 Shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) Stock

Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) 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 transaction of $15,763,884.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 528,851 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,509,043.38. This trade represents a 27.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Fortive Trading Down 0.4 %

Fortive stock opened at $79.61 on Friday. Fortive Co. has a 12 month low of $66.15 and a 12 month high of $87.10. The company has a market capitalization of $27.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.15. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $78.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $76.40. 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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business posted $0.98 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Fortive Co. will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fortive Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend 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 currently 13.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on FTV shares. Citigroup cut shares of Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $92.00 to $86.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Fortive from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced 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. Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of Fortive in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on Fortive from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.64.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fortive

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FTV. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its stake in Fortive by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 2,554 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $192,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fortive by 3.6% during the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 3,899 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $308,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital boosted its position in shares of Fortive by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 3,346 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $252,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Fortive by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,436 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,083,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC raised its position in Fortive by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC now owns 8,854 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $699,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. 94.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.