California Public Employees Retirement System Decreases Position in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

California Public Employees Retirement System trimmed its stake in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) by 6.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 655,605 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 47,187 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.19% of Fortive worth $48,272,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of FTV. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Fortive by 5.3% in the third 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 last quarter. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Fortive by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 3,505 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $260,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its position in Fortive by 17.5% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,120 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. increased its stake in Fortive by 2.6% in the third quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 7,433 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $551,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the period. Finally, Guinness Asset Management LTD lifted its position in shares of Fortive by 2.5% during the third quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 7,865 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $583,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fortive

In other news, CEO Tamara S. Newcombe sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.00, for a total transaction of $425,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 55,017 shares in the company, valued at $4,676,445. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Fortive news, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 9,106 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of 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 SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Tamara S. Newcombe sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 55,017 shares in the company, valued at $4,676,445. 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. 0.95% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Fortive Stock Performance

FTV stock opened at $75.97 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $83.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $76.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.50. Fortive Co. has a one year low of $62.77 and a one year high of $87.10. The firm has a market cap of $26.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.03, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.13.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The technology company reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.04. Fortive had a net margin of 14.68% and a return on equity of 12.22%. The company had revenue of $1.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.53 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that Fortive Co. will post 3.8 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 31st. Fortive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.65%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Fortive from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Fortive from $101.00 to $98.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Mizuho boosted their price target on Fortive from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Barclays raised their price objective on Fortive from $89.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Vertical Research cut Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fortive presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.46.

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.