Rafferty Asset Management LLC Purchases 3,036 Shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) by 10.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 32,411 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,036 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Fortive were worth $2,431,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its stake in Fortive by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 2,554 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $192,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Fortive by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,436 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,083,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Fortive by 13.4% in the fourth 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. Webster Bank N. A. increased its stake in Fortive by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 2,696 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $202,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its stake in Fortive by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 13,628 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,022,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.94% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 3,002 shares of Fortive stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 42,373 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,349,585.65. This trade represents a 6.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO James A. Lico sold 175,000 shares of Fortive stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.40, for a total transaction of $12,670,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 428,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,029,554. The trade was a 28.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 432,712 shares of company stock worth $33,237,008 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on FTV. BNP Paribas cut Fortive from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $67.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Fortive from $84.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Fortive from $88.00 to $82.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Fortive from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Fortive from $85.00 to $84.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Fortive has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.92.

Fortive Stock Performance

Fortive stock opened at $72.71 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $69.74 and a 200-day moving average of $74.90. The firm has a market cap of $24.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.10. Fortive Co. has a 1-year low of $60.39 and a 1-year high of $83.32.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The technology company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.85. Fortive had a net margin of 13.36% and a return on equity of 13.15%. The business had revenue of $1.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.83 earnings per share. Fortive’s quarterly revenue was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Fortive Co. will post 4.05 EPS for the current year.

Fortive Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. Fortive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.04%.

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.