James A. Lico Sells 196,117 Shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) Stock

Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $42,509,043.38. This represents a 27.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Fortive Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of FTV stock opened at $79.61 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $78.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $76.40. Fortive Co. has a 52 week low of $66.15 and a 52 week high of $87.10. The stock has a market cap of $27.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.73, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last posted 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $0.98 EPS. Analysts predict that Fortive Co. will post 4.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fortive Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its position in Fortive by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 2,554 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $192,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Fortive by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 3,899 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $308,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fortive by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,436 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,083,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. 94.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on FTV shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Fortive from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Fortive from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Argus reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Fortive in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Fortive from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fortive presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.64.

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.