Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Boosts Position in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) by 8.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 10,704 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 876 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Fortive were worth $803,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO James A. Lico sold 196,117 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,509,043.38. The trade was a 27.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Charles E. Mclaughlin sold 32,085 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.86, for a total transaction of $2,530,223.10. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 76,126 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,003,296.36. This trade represents a 29.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 243,385 shares of company stock valued at $19,508,529. 1.01% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Fortive Stock Performance

Fortive stock opened at $73.83 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $25.12 billion, a PE ratio of 31.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $78.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $76.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Fortive Co. has a 12 month low of $66.15 and a 12 month high of $87.10.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 7th. The technology company reported $1.17 EPS 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 period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.98 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Fortive Co. will post 4.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Fortive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. 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 is presently 13.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on FTV shares. Citigroup lowered shares of Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $92.00 to $86.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Fortive from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Fortive from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Fortive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Fortive from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.64.

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.