Van ECK Associates Corp Buys 6,517 Shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) by 18.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 41,228 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,517 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Fortive were worth $3,036,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Fortive by 1.0% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 19,092,535 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,415,902,000 after buying an additional 181,948 shares during the period. Flossbach Von Storch AG boosted its holdings in Fortive by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG now owns 11,107,878 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $817,873,000 after purchasing an additional 512,414 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Fortive by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,886,914 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $288,254,000 after purchasing an additional 85,560 shares in the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of Fortive by 8.6% in the third quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 3,294,446 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $244,316,000 after purchasing an additional 260,404 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in shares of Fortive by 0.6% in the third quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 2,380,342 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $176,526,000 after buying an additional 14,400 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.94% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Charles E. Mclaughlin sold 40,837 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 61,855 shares in the company, valued at $5,336,849.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 9,106 shares of Fortive stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.50, for a total value of $787,669.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 36,558 shares in the company, valued at $3,162,267. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Charles E. Mclaughlin sold 40,837 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.28, for a total transaction of $3,523,416.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now 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 a total of 63,937 shares of company stock valued at $5,475,122 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.95% of the company’s stock.

Fortive Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:FTV opened at $76.98 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.15. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $82.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $76.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Fortive Co. has a 12-month low of $63.05 and a 12-month high of $87.10.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The technology company reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.04. Fortive had a return on equity of 12.22% and a net margin of 14.68%. The business had revenue of $1.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.53 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Fortive Co. will post 3.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Fortive Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 31st. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.42%. Fortive’s payout ratio is currently 12.65%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Fortive from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $95.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Fortive from $89.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Fortive from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Fortive from $93.00 to $83.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Fortive in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $99.00 target price for the company. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.46.

About Fortive

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.