Boston Partners Increases Stake in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Boston Partners boosted its stake in shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,904,282 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 166,123 shares during the quarter. Boston Partners owned 2.28% of Fortive worth $594,108,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of FTV. Atria Investments Inc raised its position in Fortive by 1.6% during the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 10,591 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $836,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Fortive by 1.5% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 150,553 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $11,883,000 after buying an additional 2,156 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Fortive in the third quarter valued at approximately $426,000. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of Fortive by 7.8% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 51,118 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,035,000 after buying an additional 3,713 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Fortive by 3.3% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 5,410 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $427,000 after buying an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. 94.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fortive Stock Performance

NYSE FTV opened at $74.71 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $78.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $76.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.16. Fortive Co. has a fifty-two week low of $66.15 and a fifty-two week high of $87.10.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last posted its 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 return on equity of 13.15% and a net margin of 13.36%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.98 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate 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, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.43%. Fortive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on FTV. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Fortive from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Fortive from $77.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays lowered their price target on Fortive from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Fortive from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.64.

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 value of $2,530,223.10. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 5,688 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.52, for a total value of $457,997.76. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 47,141 shares in the company, valued at $3,795,793.32. This represents a 10.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 243,385 shares of company stock worth $19,508,529 over the last quarter. 1.01% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.