Sky Investment Group LLC Boosts Holdings in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Sky Investment Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 41,558 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 304 shares during the quarter. Sky Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Fortive were worth $3,117,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Fortive during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Goodman Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fortive during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. boosted its position in shares of Fortive by 71.0% during the third quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 424 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in Fortive by 186.8% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 456 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares during the period. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new position in Fortive in the third quarter worth $41,000. 94.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Peter C. Underwood sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.58, for a total transaction of $382,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 48,346 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,702,336.68. This represents a 9.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 171,808 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.71, for a total transaction of $12,320,351.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 42,651 shares in the company, valued at $3,058,503.21. This trade represents a 80.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.01% of the company’s stock.

Fortive Trading Up 0.4 %

Fortive stock opened at $79.00 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Fortive Co. has a one year low of $66.15 and a one year high of $87.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.41 billion, a PE ratio of 31.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.14. The business’s fifty day moving average is $76.68 and its 200 day moving average is $74.84.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.04. Fortive had a net margin of 14.35% and a return on equity of 12.56%. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.85 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Fortive Co. will post 3.84 EPS for the current year.

Fortive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.41%. Fortive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on FTV. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Fortive from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Fortive from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Fortive from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Fortive from $85.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Fortive from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fortive presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.45.

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.