Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Increases Stake in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its stake in shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) by 30.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 260,013 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 59,956 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned approximately 0.07% of Fortive worth $19,501,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fortive during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in Fortive by 186.8% during 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 during the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Fortive in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new position in shares of Fortive in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA lifted its holdings in shares of Fortive by 28.6% during the fourth quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 786 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.94% of the company’s stock.

Fortive Trading Up 0.8 %

FTV stock opened at $73.25 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $78.24 and its 200 day moving average is $77.00. Fortive Co. has a 12-month low of $66.15 and a 12-month high of $85.93. The stock has a market cap of $24.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.04, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.16. 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 issued 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 return on equity of 13.15% and a net margin of 13.36%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.98 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Fortive Co. will post 4.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fortive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. Fortive’s payout ratio is presently 13.56%.

Insider Activity at Fortive

In other news, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 3,002 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.05, for a total value of $237,308.10. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 42,373 shares in the company, valued at $3,349,585.65. This represents a 6.62 % 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, CEO James A. Lico sold 196,117 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was 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 directly owns 528,851 shares in the company, valued at $42,509,043.38. This trade represents a 27.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 243,385 shares of company stock valued at $19,508,529. Corporate insiders own 1.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Fortive from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Citigroup downgraded shares of Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $92.00 to $86.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Fortive from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com downgraded Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on Fortive from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.18.

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.