Stacey A. Walker Sells 3,002 Shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) Stock

Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 3,002 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.05, for a total transaction of $237,308.10. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 42,373 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,349,585.65. This trade represents a 6.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Fortive Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE:FTV opened at $78.28 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $78.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $76.71. Fortive Co. has a 52 week low of $66.15 and a 52 week 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. The stock has a market cap of $26.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.17, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.15.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 7th. The technology company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.05. Fortive had a net margin of 13.36% and a return on equity of 13.15%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.98 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Fortive Co. will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fortive Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Fortive’s payout ratio is 13.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on FTV. Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of Fortive in a research report on Monday, November 18th. StockNews.com cut shares of Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Fortive from $77.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup cut shares of Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $92.00 to $86.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Fortive in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $84.00 price objective on the stock. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.64.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fortive

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fortive by 11.6% during the fourth quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,383 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $554,000 after buying an additional 768 shares during the last quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Fortive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in Fortive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,686,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Fortive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,031,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in Fortive by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 30,853 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,314,000 after purchasing an additional 1,679 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.94% of the company’s stock.

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.