Xponance Inc. Has $5.87 Million Position in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Xponance Inc. raised its stake in shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) by 56.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 78,269 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 28,290 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Fortive were worth $5,870,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fortive in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Fortive by 186.8% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 456 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares during the period. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Fortive in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new position in shares of Fortive in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA grew its position in shares of Fortive by 28.6% in the 4th quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 786 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. 94.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fortive Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of Fortive stock opened at $75.24 on Thursday. Fortive Co. has a 12-month low of $66.15 and a 12-month high of $87.10. The stock has a market cap of $25.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The business’s 50 day moving average is $78.70 and its 200-day moving average is $76.85.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 7th. The technology company reported $1.17 earnings per share (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 previous year, the company posted $0.98 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Fortive Co. will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fortive Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Fortive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FTV has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Fortive from $77.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup lowered Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $92.00 to $86.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Fortive from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com cut Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Fortive from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.64.

Insider Transactions at Fortive

In related news, CEO James A. Lico sold 196,117 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.38, for a total transaction of $15,763,884.46. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 528,851 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,509,043.38. The trade was a 27.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 3,002 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.05, for a total value of $237,308.10. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 42,373 shares in the company, valued at $3,349,585.65. The trade was a 6.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 243,385 shares of company stock worth $19,508,529 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.01% of the company’s stock.

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.