Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) Shares Sold by Sandy Spring Bank

Sandy Spring Bank lowered its stake in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) by 42.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 30,136 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 22,023 shares during the quarter. Sandy Spring Bank’s holdings in Fortive were worth $2,260,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Hawaiian Bank lifted its position in Fortive by 197.0% in the fourth quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 15,264 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,145,000 after buying an additional 10,125 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Fortive by 2.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 406,085 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $32,052,000 after buying an additional 10,795 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Fortive by 26.4% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 37,502 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,832,000 after buying an additional 7,829 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in Fortive in the third quarter valued at about $1,346,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in Fortive by 23.9% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,574,289 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $118,292,000 after buying an additional 303,788 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.94% of the company’s stock.

Fortive Stock Down 0.8 %

FTV stock opened at $74.66 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $78.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $76.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.16. Fortive Co. has a fifty-two week low of $66.15 and a fifty-two week high of $87.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.64, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.16.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last released its 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 last year, the business earned $0.98 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Fortive Co. will post 4.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fortive Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.43%. Fortive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on FTV shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Fortive from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research 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 report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Fortive from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Fortive from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Citigroup cut shares of Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $92.00 to $86.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.64.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fortive

In other Fortive news, CFO Charles E. Mclaughlin sold 32,085 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 76,126 shares in the company, valued at $6,003,296.36. This represents a 29.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO James A. Lico sold 196,117 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.38, for a total transaction of $15,763,884.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 528,851 shares in the company, valued at $42,509,043.38. This represents a 27.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 243,385 shares of company stock worth $19,508,529 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.01% 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.