Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Decreases Stake in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 790,543 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 8,264 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Fortive were worth $59,291,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its position 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 valued at $308,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital raised its stake 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 during the last quarter. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Andina Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Fortive by 3.4% during the third quarter. Andina Capital Management LLC now owns 4,585 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $362,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the period. Finally, Atria Investments Inc raised its position in Fortive by 1.6% during the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 10,591 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $836,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.94% of the company’s stock.

Fortive Trading Down 0.9 %

FTV opened at $79.12 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.15. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $77.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $75.36. Fortive Co. has a 1-year low of $66.15 and a 1-year high of $87.10. 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 (NYSE:FTV) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 12.56% and a net margin of 14.35%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.98 EPS. Analysts expect that Fortive Co. will post 3.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fortive Announces Dividend

The company 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Fortive’s payout ratio is currently 12.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on FTV. Citigroup cut shares of Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $92.00 to $86.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com upgraded Fortive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 25th. Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of Fortive in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of 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, UBS Group started coverage on shares of Fortive in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $84.00 price target for the company. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock 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.