Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. Increases Position in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. increased its stake in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 136,986 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,300 shares during the quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V.’s holdings in Fortive were worth $10,274,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Flossbach Von Storch SE increased its holdings in shares of Fortive by 1.2% in the 4th 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 grew its stake in Fortive by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,191,915 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $644,346,000 after acquiring an additional 46,704 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in Fortive by 13.8% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 8,041,324 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $634,701,000 after acquiring an additional 977,428 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its stake in Fortive by 14,635.7% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 4,000,000 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $315,720,000 after acquiring an additional 3,972,855 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in Fortive by 3.1% in the 3rd 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 valued at $271,851,000 after acquiring an additional 103,530 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Fortive

In related news, CEO James A. Lico sold 196,117 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Christopher M. Mulhall sold 6,493 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 208,298 shares of company stock worth $16,740,998. Company insiders own 1.01% of the company’s stock.

Fortive Price Performance

FTV opened at $79.73 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $78.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $76.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.16. Fortive Co. has a 1 year low of $66.15 and a 1 year high of $87.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.66 billion, a PE ratio of 33.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.15.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 7th. The technology company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Fortive Co. will post 4.05 EPS for the current year.

Fortive Announces Dividend

The business 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 $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.40%. Fortive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on FTV. Argus reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Fortive in a research note on Monday, November 18th. 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 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Fortive from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Fortive from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of 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 assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.64.

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.