Choate Investment Advisors Buys New Holdings in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Choate Investment Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 3,987 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $299,000.

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

Fortive Stock Up 1.4 %

FTV stock opened at $74.71 on Tuesday. Fortive Co. has a twelve month low of $66.15 and a twelve month high of $87.10. 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 firm has a market cap of $25.42 billion, a PE ratio of 31.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.16. The business has a 50 day moving average of $78.78 and a 200 day moving average of $76.86.

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

Fortive Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Fortive

In other Fortive news, CEO James A. Lico sold 196,117 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 528,851 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,509,043.38. This trade represents a 27.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Charles E. Mclaughlin sold 32,085 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.86, for a total value of $2,530,223.10. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 76,126 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,003,296.36. This represents a 29.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 243,385 shares of company stock worth $19,508,529. Insiders own 1.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Fortive from $77.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Fortive from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup lowered Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $92.00 to $86.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Argus reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Fortive in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on Fortive from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.