Clarkston Capital Partners LLC Raises Holdings in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Clarkston Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 329,620 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the period. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Fortive were worth $24,722,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. 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 worth $192,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital lifted its holdings in Fortive by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 3,346 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $252,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Fortive by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,436 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,083,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Fortive by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 1,400 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $105,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. raised its position in shares of Fortive by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 2,696 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $202,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Fortive

In other Fortive news, CEO James A. Lico sold 196,117 shares of Fortive stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 528,851 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,509,043.38. The trade was a 27.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 5,688 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.52, for a total value of $457,997.76. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 47,141 shares in the company, valued at $3,795,793.32. The trade was 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 ninety days. 1.01% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Fortive Stock Down 5.4 %

FTV opened at $64.00 on Friday. Fortive Co. has a 52 week low of $63.26 and a 52 week high of $84.96. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $77.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $76.86. 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 company has a market cap of $21.78 billion, a PE ratio of 27.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.16.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 7th. The technology company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 in the previous year, the firm earned $0.98 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Fortive Co. will post 4.05 EPS for the current year.

Fortive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. Fortive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on FTV shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Fortive from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Fortive from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Citigroup lowered Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $92.00 to $86.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Fortive from $77.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.