California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 58,030 Shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

California Public Employees Retirement System cut its position in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) by 9.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 570,822 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 58,030 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned 0.16% of Fortive worth $42,812,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Fortive by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 2,554 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $192,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital grew its position in Fortive by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 3,346 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $252,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the period. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Fortive by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,436 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,083,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Fortive by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 1,400 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $105,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. lifted its stake in shares of Fortive by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 2,696 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $202,000 after buying an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. 94.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fortive Stock Up 1.2 %

FTV opened at $74.36 on Thursday. Fortive Co. has a twelve month low of $66.15 and a twelve month high of $85.79. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $77.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $76.98. The stock has a market cap of $25.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.51, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.16. 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 earnings per share 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 business earned $0.98 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Fortive Co. will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Fortive Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Fortive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fortive

In related news, CFO Charles E. Mclaughlin sold 32,085 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.86, for a total transaction of $2,530,223.10. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 76,126 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,003,296.36. The trade was a 29.65 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James A. Lico sold 196,117 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.38, for a total value of $15,763,884.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 528,851 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,509,043.38. This represents a 27.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 243,385 shares of company stock valued at $19,508,529 over the last three months. 1.01% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on FTV shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Fortive from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup downgraded Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $92.00 to $86.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Barclays cut their target price on Fortive from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Fortive from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective 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. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.18.

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.