Whipplewood Advisors LLC Takes $31,000 Position in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 409 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Fortive in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Fortive by 186.8% in the 4th 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 purchased a new position in Fortive during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new stake in Fortive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fortive in the third quarter valued at approximately $57,000. 94.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fortive Price Performance

FTV stock opened at $79.73 on Friday. Fortive Co. has a 1 year low of $66.15 and a 1 year high of $87.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The firm 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 has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $76.53.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last issued its 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 return on equity of 13.15% and a net margin of 13.36%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.98 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Fortive Co. will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fortive Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on FTV shares. StockNews.com lowered Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Fortive from $77.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Fortive in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $84.00 target price for the company. Citigroup lowered shares of Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $92.00 to $86.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Fortive from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Fortive currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.64.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 5,688 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.52, for a total value of $457,997.76. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 47,141 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,795,793.32. This represents a 10.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Christopher M. Mulhall sold 6,493 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.95, for a total value of $519,115.35. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,283 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,941,425.85. This trade represents a 21.10 % decrease in their position. 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 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.01% of the company’s stock.

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.