Aureus Asset Management LLC Purchases 81,663 Shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Aureus Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) by 20.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 475,417 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 81,663 shares during the period. Fortive makes up approximately 2.5% of Aureus Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Aureus Asset Management LLC owned about 0.14% of Fortive worth $37,525,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in Fortive by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 3,899 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $308,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. RDA Financial Network increased its holdings in Fortive by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. RDA Financial Network now owns 4,191 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $311,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Fortive by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 18,507 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,371,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the period. Andina Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fortive by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Andina Capital Management LLC now owns 4,433 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $328,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the period. Finally, Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fortive by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC now owns 8,854 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $699,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.94% of the company’s stock.

Fortive Stock Performance

FTV stock opened at $79.33 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.52 billion, a PE ratio of 31.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.13. Fortive Co. has a 12-month low of $66.15 and a 12-month high of $87.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $76.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $74.22.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.55 billion. Fortive had a return on equity of 12.56% and a net margin of 14.35%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.85 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Fortive Co. will post 3.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fortive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.40%. Fortive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FTV has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays reduced their target price on Fortive from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Argus reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Fortive in a report on Monday, November 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Fortive from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $90.00 to $92.00 in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Wolfe Research downgraded Fortive from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on Fortive in a research report on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $89.00 price target on the stock. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.82.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fortive

In other Fortive news, CFO Charles E. Mclaughlin sold 6,864 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.03, for a total transaction of $508,141.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 73,391 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,433,135.73. The trade was a 8.55 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 171,808 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.71, for a total transaction of $12,320,351.68. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 42,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,058,503.21. This represents a 80.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 197,895 shares of company stock worth $14,261,051. Insiders own 1.01% of the company’s stock.

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.