Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Increases Holdings in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) by 70.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 6,958 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,872 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Fortive were worth $512,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. PCA Investment Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Fortive in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Fortive in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC acquired a new stake in Fortive in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. First Command Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Fortive in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in Fortive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 94.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fortive

In other Fortive news, CFO Charles E. Mclaughlin sold 40,837 shares of Fortive stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.28, for a total value of $3,523,416.36. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 61,855 shares in the company, valued at $5,336,849.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 9,106 shares of Fortive stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.50, for a total value of $787,669.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 36,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,162,267. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Charles E. Mclaughlin sold 40,837 shares of Fortive stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.28, for a total value of $3,523,416.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 61,855 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,336,849.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 63,937 shares of company stock worth $5,475,122 over the last quarter. 0.95% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Fortive Stock Performance

Shares of Fortive stock opened at $81.02 on Wednesday. Fortive Co. has a one year low of $62.70 and a one year high of $87.10. The company has a market cap of $28.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.20, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 2.05. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $84.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $75.92.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The technology company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.05. Fortive had a return on equity of 12.12% and a net margin of 14.27%. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.88 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Fortive Co. will post 3.78 EPS for the current year.

Fortive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 31st. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.39%. Fortive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on FTV. StockNews.com raised Fortive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Fortive from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Barclays raised their target price on Fortive from $89.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Fortive from $79.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on Fortive from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.31.

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.