Insider Selling: Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) CAO Sells 6,493 Shares of Stock

Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) CAO Christopher M. Mulhall sold 6,493 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.95, for a total transaction of $519,115.35. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,283 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,941,425.85. This trade represents a 21.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Fortive Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of FTV stock traded up $0.13 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $79.73. 4,220,681 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,534,107. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.15. Fortive Co. has a one year low of $66.15 and a one year high of $87.10. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $78.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $76.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.16.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 7th. The technology company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 prior year, the firm posted $0.98 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Fortive Co. will post 4.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fortive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.40%. Fortive’s payout ratio is 13.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FTV has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Fortive from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Citigroup cut Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $92.00 to $86.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective 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. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Fortive from $77.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Fortive from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.64.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its position in shares of Fortive by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 2,554 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $192,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital raised its stake in Fortive by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 3,346 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $252,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in 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 during the period. Finally, Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Fortive by 1.7% in the third quarter. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC now owns 8,854 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $699,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. 94.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.