Russell Investments Group Ltd. Raises Stake in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) by 47.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 238,861 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 76,740 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.07% of Fortive worth $17,920,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Fortive during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in 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 buying an additional 297 shares during the period. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Fortive in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new position in Fortive during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA raised its stake in shares of Fortive by 28.6% in the 4th quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 786 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.94% of the company’s stock.

Fortive Stock Performance

Shares of FTV stock opened at $67.88 on Thursday. Fortive Co. has a 12 month low of $60.39 and a 12 month high of $84.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a market cap of $23.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.76, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.12. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $75.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $76.46.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last released 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 period in the prior year, the company posted $0.98 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Fortive Co. will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fortive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid 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 is currently 13.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FTV has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Fortive from $90.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Fortive from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. BNP Paribas downgraded Fortive from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $67.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday. Barclays dropped their target price on Fortive from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.33.

Insider Activity at Fortive

In other news, CFO Charles E. Mclaughlin sold 32,085 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.86, for a total value of $2,530,223.10. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 76,126 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,003,296.36. The trade was a 29.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 value of $457,997.76. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 47,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,795,793.32. This 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 243,385 shares of company stock valued at $19,508,529 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.01% of the company’s stock.

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.