Cannell & Spears LLC Sells 5,855 Shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Cannell & Spears LLC lowered its position in shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 462,349 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 5,855 shares during the quarter. Cannell & Spears LLC’s holdings in Fortive were worth $34,676,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FTV. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Fortive during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Fortive by 186.8% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 456 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 297 shares during the period. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Fortive in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new position in shares of Fortive during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA boosted its stake in Fortive by 28.6% during the fourth quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 786 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. 94.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fortive

In other news, CFO Charles E. Mclaughlin sold 32,085 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 76,126 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,003,296.36. This represents a 29.65 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 5,688 shares of Fortive stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was 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 directly owns 47,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,795,793.32. This trade represents a 10.77 % 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 worth $19,508,529 over the last three months. 1.01% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Fortive Trading Down 2.7 %

NYSE:FTV opened at $72.57 on Monday. Fortive Co. has a 52 week low of $66.15 and a 52 week high of $85.93. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $78.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $77.00. The firm has a market cap of $24.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.75, 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 (NYSE:FTV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 7th. The technology company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 quarter last year, the company earned $0.98 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Fortive Co. will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fortive Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Fortive’s dividend payout ratio is 13.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on FTV shares. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Fortive from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Fortive from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com cut Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Fortive from $77.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Citigroup downgraded shares of Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $92.00 to $86.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fortive presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.18.

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.