Heritage Investment Group Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Heritage Investment Group Inc. reduced its holdings in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,865 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 130 shares during the quarter. Heritage Investment Group Inc.’s holdings in Fortive were worth $505,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. PCA Investment Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in Fortive during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Fortive during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC acquired a new stake in Fortive in the third quarter valued at $28,000. First Command Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in Fortive during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fortive in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.94% of the company’s stock.

Fortive Price Performance

Shares of FTV stock traded down $0.69 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $79.49. 2,440,494 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,367,875. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $84.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $76.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 2.05. The company has a market cap of $27.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.58, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.13. Fortive Co. has a 12 month low of $62.70 and a 12 month high of $87.10.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The technology company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.05. Fortive had a return on equity of 12.12% and a net margin of 14.27%. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.56 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.88 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Fortive Co. will post 3.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Fortive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 31st. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.40%. Fortive’s payout ratio is presently 13.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fortive

In other news, CFO Charles E. Mclaughlin sold 40,837 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.28, for a total transaction of $3,523,416.36. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 61,855 shares in the company, valued at $5,336,849.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Stacey A. Walker sold 9,106 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.50, for a total value of $787,669.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 36,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,162,267. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Charles E. Mclaughlin sold 40,837 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.28, for a total transaction of $3,523,416.36. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 61,855 shares in the company, valued at $5,336,849.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 63,937 shares of company stock valued at $5,475,122. 0.95% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on FTV. Vertical Research lowered Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. StockNews.com raised shares of Fortive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Fortive from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Fortive from $79.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Truist Financial initiated coverage on Fortive in a report on Thursday, March 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $99.00 target price for the company. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Fortive currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.54.

Fortive 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.