Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) Shares Sold by Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd cut its holdings in shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 40,318 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 519 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Fortive were worth $2,969,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. abrdn plc boosted its position in Fortive by 41.2% during the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 234,027 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $17,231,000 after acquiring an additional 68,258 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. boosted its position in Fortive by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 46,403 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,417,000 after acquiring an additional 1,733 shares during the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd boosted its position in Fortive by 150.9% during the fourth quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 20,527 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,511,000 after acquiring an additional 12,346 shares during the last quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG boosted its position in Fortive by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG now owns 11,107,878 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $817,873,000 after acquiring an additional 512,414 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt boosted its position in Fortive by 1,162.8% during the fourth quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 543 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. 94.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fortive Price Performance

Fortive stock opened at $80.61 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $84.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $76.13. The company has a market capitalization of $28.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.13. Fortive Co. has a 1 year low of $62.70 and a 1 year high of $87.10. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The technology company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.05. Fortive had a net margin of 14.27% and a return on equity of 12.12%. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.88 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Fortive Co. will post 3.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Fortive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, May 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 31st. Fortive’s payout ratio is currently 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 that occurred on 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 directly owns 20,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,689,743.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Fortive news, CEO Tamara S. Newcombe sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 55,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,676,445. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Christopher M. Mulhall sold 8,994 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.17, for a total transaction of $739,036.98. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 20,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,689,743.88. 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 ninety days. Company insiders own 0.95% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on FTV. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of Fortive in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $99.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Fortive from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $95.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Fortive from $89.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Fortive from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Fortive from $79.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.