Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Buys New Position in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 69,835 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,238,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in Fortive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Fortive by 186.8% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 456 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares during the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Fortive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new position in Fortive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA grew its position in Fortive by 28.6% during the fourth quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 786 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. 94.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fortive Stock Performance

NYSE:FTV opened at $73.83 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $25.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.16. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $78.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $76.85. Fortive Co. has a twelve month low of $66.15 and a twelve month high of $87.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 7th. The technology company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.05. Fortive had a return on equity of 13.15% and a net margin of 13.36%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.98 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Fortive Co. will post 4.05 EPS for the current year.

Fortive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Fortive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Fortive from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup cut shares of Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $92.00 to $86.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Fortive from $77.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Fortive from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given 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 $87.64.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fortive

In other news, CAO Christopher M. Mulhall sold 6,493 shares of Fortive stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.95, for a total value of $519,115.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,283 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,941,425.85. The trade was a 21.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Charles E. Mclaughlin sold 32,085 shares of Fortive stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.86, for a total value of $2,530,223.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 76,126 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,003,296.36. This represents a 29.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 243,385 shares of company stock valued at $19,508,529. 1.01% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.