Welch & Forbes LLC Lowers Stock Position in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Welch & Forbes LLC lessened its stake in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) by 9.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 125,140 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 13,313 shares during the period. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Fortive were worth $9,214,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FTV. Apollon Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Fortive in the fourth quarter valued at $220,000. Lincoln National Corp lifted its stake in Fortive by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 5,412 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $399,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares during the period. Machina Capital S.A.S. purchased a new position in Fortive during the fourth quarter valued at $1,474,000. Private Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in Fortive during the 4th quarter valued at about $283,000. Finally, Summit Trail Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Fortive by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 6,220 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $458,000 after buying an additional 558 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.94% of the company’s stock.

Fortive Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:FTV traded up $0.03 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $77.01. The company had a trading volume of 1,499,994 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,715,017. The stock has a market cap of $27.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $82.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $76.27. Fortive Co. has a one year low of $63.05 and a one year high of $87.10.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The technology company reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.04. Fortive had a net margin of 14.68% and a return on equity of 12.22%. The company had revenue of $1.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.53 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Fortive Co. will post 3.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Fortive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, May 31st will be given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 31st. Fortive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.65%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FTV has been the subject of several analyst reports. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Fortive from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Fortive from $101.00 to $98.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Fortive from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $95.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Truist Financial started coverage on Fortive in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $99.00 price target for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Fortive from $93.00 to $83.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.46.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Tamara S. Newcombe sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.00, for a total value of $425,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 55,017 shares in the company, valued at $4,676,445. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Fortive news, CAO Christopher M. Mulhall sold 8,994 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.17, for a total value of $739,036.98. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 20,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,689,743.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Tamara S. Newcombe sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.00, for a total transaction of $425,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 55,017 shares in the company, valued at $4,676,445. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 63,937 shares of company stock valued at $5,475,122 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.95% of the company’s stock.

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.