Prudential PLC Decreases Position in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Prudential PLC trimmed its holdings in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) by 7.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 164,734 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 12,867 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Fortive were worth $12,355,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Fortive by 5.2% in 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 in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital grew its holdings in shares of Fortive by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 3,346 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $252,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Fortive by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,436 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,083,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fortive by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 1,400 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $105,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. boosted its position in shares of Fortive by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 2,696 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $202,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the period. 94.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on FTV. Citigroup lowered Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $92.00 to $86.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Fortive from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Fortive from $77.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Fortive from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Fortive from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.18.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO James A. Lico sold 196,117 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.38, for a total value of $15,763,884.46. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 528,851 shares in the company, valued at $42,509,043.38. The trade was a 27.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 5,688 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.52, for a total transaction of $457,997.76. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 47,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,795,793.32. This trade represents a 10.77 % 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 quarter. Company insiders own 1.01% of the company’s stock.

Fortive Trading Down 5.4 %

Shares of FTV stock opened at $64.00 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $77.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $76.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.78 billion, a PE ratio of 27.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Fortive Co. has a 1-year low of $63.26 and a 1-year high of $84.96.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 7th. The technology company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.05. Fortive had a net margin of 13.36% and a return on equity of 13.15%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.98 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Fortive Co. will post 4.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fortive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. Fortive’s payout ratio is 13.56%.

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.