Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Cuts Position in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lessened its holdings in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) by 55.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 61,613 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 75,181 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Fortive were worth $4,536,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Fortive by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,865 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $214,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fortive by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 6,618 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $491,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fortive by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,191 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $237,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the period. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Fortive by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 3,505 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $260,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fortive by 17.5% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,120 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.94% of the company’s stock.

Fortive Trading Down 0.9 %

Fortive stock opened at $79.49 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $27.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.58, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.13. Fortive Co. has a fifty-two week low of $62.70 and a fifty-two week high of $87.10. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $84.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $76.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 2.05.

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

Fortive Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.40%. Fortive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Christopher M. Mulhall sold 8,994 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.17, for a total value of $739,036.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 20,564 shares in the company, valued at $1,689,743.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Fortive news, CEO Tamara S. Newcombe sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.00, for a total transaction of $425,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 55,017 shares in the company, valued at $4,676,445. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Christopher M. Mulhall sold 8,994 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.17, for a total transaction of $739,036.98. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 20,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,689,743.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 63,937 shares of company stock worth $5,475,122. Corporate insiders own 0.95% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FTV has been the topic of a number of research reports. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Fortive from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Fortive from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. StockNews.com raised shares of Fortive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Fortive from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $95.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Fortive from $90.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.54.

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.