Proficio Capital Partners LLC Makes New $5.85 Million Investment in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 77,957 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,847,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. grew its position in Fortive by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 136,986 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $10,274,000 after acquiring an additional 2,300 shares during the period. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fortive during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new stake in Fortive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $59,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in Fortive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $383,000. Finally, Capital City Trust Co. FL lifted its position in Fortive by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital City Trust Co. FL now owns 13,208 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $991,000 after buying an additional 990 shares in the last quarter. 94.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fortive Stock Performance

Shares of FTV opened at $79.00 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $26.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.47, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The business’s 50 day moving average is $78.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $76.65. Fortive Co. has a 52-week low of $66.15 and a 52-week high of $87.10.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last posted 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 firm earned $0.98 EPS. Analysts forecast that Fortive Co. will post 4.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fortive Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.41%. Fortive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.56%.

Insider Activity at Fortive

In other Fortive news, CAO Christopher M. Mulhall sold 6,493 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were 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 in the company, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 5,688 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.52, for a total transaction of $457,997.76. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 47,141 shares in the company, valued at $3,795,793.32. This trade represents a 10.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 208,298 shares of company stock valued at $16,740,998 over the last three months. 1.01% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Fortive in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $84.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Fortive from $77.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Argus reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Fortive in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Fortive from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Fortive from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Fortive has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.64.

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.