Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) Shares Acquired by Simplicity Solutions LLC

Simplicity Solutions LLC increased its position in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) by 55.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 6,657 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,371 shares during the quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC’s holdings in Fortive were worth $490,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. NewEdge Wealth LLC grew its stake in Fortive by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 4,816 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $355,000 after purchasing an additional 531 shares in the last quarter. Braun Bostich & Associates Inc. grew its stake in Fortive by 18.4% in the fourth quarter. Braun Bostich & Associates Inc. now owns 4,427 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $326,000 after purchasing an additional 689 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in Fortive by 105.5% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 49,225 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,625,000 after purchasing an additional 25,274 shares in the last quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. grew its stake in Fortive by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 166,331 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $12,247,000 after purchasing an additional 1,796 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vivid Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Fortive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $461,000. 94.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fortive Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE FTV opened at $80.17 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $84.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $75.98. The company has a market cap of $28.17 billion, a PE ratio of 32.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.13. Fortive Co. has a 12-month low of $62.70 and a 12-month high of $87.10.

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

Fortive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 31st. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.40%. Fortive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fortive

In other Fortive news, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 9,106 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 36,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,162,267. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Fortive news, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 9,106 shares of Fortive stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.50, for a total transaction of $787,669.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 36,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,162,267. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Charles E. Mclaughlin sold 40,837 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.28, for a total transaction of $3,523,416.36. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 61,855 shares in the company, valued at $5,336,849.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 63,937 shares of company stock valued at $5,475,122. Corporate insiders own 0.95% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on FTV. Vertical Research downgraded Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded Fortive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Fortive from $90.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Barclays lifted their target price on Fortive from $89.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Fortive from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.54.

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.