Gotham Asset Management LLC Grows Stake in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Gotham Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,603 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 408 shares during the quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Fortive were worth $1,245,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its stake 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. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Fortive by 1.0% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Fortive by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 1,400 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $105,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Webster Bank N. A. boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its holdings in Fortive by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 13,628 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,022,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. 94.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Fortive

In related news, CEO James A. Lico sold 175,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.40, for a total value of $12,670,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 428,585 shares in the company, valued at $31,029,554. This trade represents a 28.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 14,327 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.88, for a total value of $1,058,478.76. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 51,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,823,290. This represents a 21.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 432,712 shares of company stock worth $33,237,008 in the last three months. 1.01% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Fortive Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of Fortive stock opened at $73.26 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $69.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $74.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.04, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.10. Fortive Co. has a twelve month low of $60.39 and a twelve month high of $83.32.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85. The business had revenue of $1.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.49 billion. Fortive had a return on equity of 13.15% and a net margin of 13.36%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.83 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Fortive Co. will post 4.05 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 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. Fortive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Truist Financial reduced their price target on Fortive from $90.00 to $81.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. StockNews.com downgraded Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Fortive from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Fortive from $88.00 to $82.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Fortive from $73.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.92.

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.