Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Lowers Stock Holdings in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc reduced its position in shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) by 0.1% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 785,904 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 764 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings in Fortive were worth $58,235,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of FTV. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in shares of Fortive by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 15,060 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,109,000 after buying an additional 1,357 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Fortive by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 113,788 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $8,378,000 after purchasing an additional 2,635 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in Fortive by 61.2% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 17,929 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,320,000 after purchasing an additional 6,810 shares during the period. Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new position in Fortive in the fourth quarter valued at $309,000. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Fortive by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 130,487 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $9,608,000 after purchasing an additional 2,840 shares during the period. 94.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FTV has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen upgraded Fortive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $75.00 to $90.00 in a report on Monday, July 8th. StockNews.com upgraded Fortive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Raymond James upgraded Fortive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $85.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Wolfe Research cut Fortive from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $77.00 price target on shares of Fortive in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Fortive currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.23.

Insider Transactions at Fortive

In related news, SVP Jonathan L. Schwarz sold 14,223 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.80, for a total value of $1,049,657.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 68,161 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,030,281.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Jonathan L. Schwarz sold 14,223 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.80, for a total value of $1,049,657.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 68,161 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,030,281.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Charles E. Mclaughlin sold 6,864 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $5,433,135.73. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.01% of the company’s stock.

Fortive Stock Down 1.2 %

FTV opened at $76.34 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $72.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $76.18. 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.11.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The technology company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.01. Fortive had a return on equity of 12.32% and a net margin of 14.39%. The business had revenue of $1.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.85 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Fortive Co. will post 3.82 EPS for the current year.

Fortive Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Fortive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.65%.

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.