Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) Shares Acquired by AQR Capital Management LLC

AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) by 37.5% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 811,399 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 221,503 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Fortive were worth $59,849,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FTV. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO acquired a new position in shares of Fortive in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Fortive in the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fortive during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fortive during the second quarter worth $30,000. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Fortive in the second quarter valued at $34,000. 94.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Charles E. Mclaughlin sold 6,864 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.03, for a total value of $508,141.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 73,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,433,135.73. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CFO Charles E. Mclaughlin sold 6,864 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.03, for a total value of $508,141.92. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 73,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,433,135.73. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jonathan L. Schwarz sold 14,223 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.80, for a total transaction of $1,049,657.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 68,161 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,030,281.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on FTV shares. StockNews.com upgraded Fortive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Fortive from $89.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Fortive in a research report on Friday, September 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $89.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $77.00 price target on shares of Fortive in a report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Fortive from $84.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.38.

Fortive Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:FTV opened at $79.18 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $72.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $76.02. The company has a market cap of $27.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.30, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.23. Fortive Co. has a one year low of $63.05 and a one year high of $87.10.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The technology company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.57 billion. Fortive had a net margin of 14.39% and a return on equity of 12.32%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.85 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Fortive Co. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fortive Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.40%. Fortive’s payout ratio is currently 12.65%.

Fortive Company 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.