Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) Shares Sold by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc lowered its position in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) by 24.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,077,567 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 660,618 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.60% of Fortive worth $155,818,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Fortive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in Fortive by 186.8% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 456 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Fortive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new stake in Fortive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA boosted its position in Fortive by 28.6% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 5,688 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $3,795,793.32. This trade represents a 10.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Christopher M. Mulhall sold 6,493 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.95, for a total value of $519,115.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,283 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,941,425.85. This trade represents a 21.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 243,385 shares of company stock worth $19,508,529. 1.01% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Fortive Stock Up 8.5 %

FTV opened at $67.88 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $75.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $76.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.16. The company has a market cap of $23.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.76, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.12. Fortive Co. has a one year low of $60.39 and a one year high of $84.03.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 7th. The technology company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 quarter last year, the company earned $0.98 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Fortive Co. will post 4.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fortive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. Fortive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on FTV shares. Barclays lowered their price objective on Fortive from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Fortive from $90.00 to $81.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. BNP Paribas lowered Fortive from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $67.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Fortive from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Fortive from $90.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.33.

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.