Insider Selling: Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) CFO Sells 6,864 Shares of Stock

Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) CFO Charles E. Mclaughlin sold 6,864 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.03, for a total value of $508,141.92. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 73,391 shares in the company, valued at $5,433,135.73. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Fortive Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of Fortive stock opened at $75.71 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.65 billion, a PE ratio of 29.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.11. Fortive Co. has a twelve month low of $63.05 and a twelve month high of $87.10. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $72.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $76.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The technology company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.01. Fortive had a net margin of 14.39% and a return on equity of 12.32%. The business had revenue of $1.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.57 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.85 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Fortive Co. will post 3.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fortive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Fortive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.65%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FTV. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO acquired a new stake in shares of Fortive during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fortive during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fortive during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Goodman Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fortive during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Fortive during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. 94.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Fortive from $84.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Fortive in a research report on Friday, September 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $89.00 price target on the stock. Barclays increased their price target on Fortive from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $77.00 price target on shares of Fortive in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Fortive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.23.

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.