Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) Shares Sold by Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich lessened its stake in Fortive Co. (NYSE:FTV) by 62.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 32,481 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 53,039 shares during the quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich’s holdings in Fortive were worth $2,392,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FTV. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of Fortive by 111.7% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,176,655 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $86,637,000 after purchasing an additional 620,866 shares during the last quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG increased its holdings in shares of Fortive by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG now owns 11,107,878 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $817,873,000 after purchasing an additional 512,414 shares during the last quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC increased its stake in Fortive by 47.4% during the fourth quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 1,410,427 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $103,850,000 after acquiring an additional 453,817 shares during the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership increased its stake in Fortive by 8.6% during the third quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 3,294,446 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $244,316,000 after acquiring an additional 260,404 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. increased its stake in Fortive by 2.9% during the third quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 6,698,951 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $496,794,000 after acquiring an additional 191,877 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions 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 stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,336,849.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CAO Christopher M. Mulhall sold 8,994 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.17, for a total value of $739,036.98. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 20,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,689,743.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Charles E. Mclaughlin sold 40,837 shares of the company’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 value of $3,523,416.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 61,855 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,336,849.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 63,937 shares of company stock valued at $5,475,122 in the last quarter. 0.95% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Fortive Stock Performance

NYSE FTV opened at $75.97 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The business’s 50 day moving average is $83.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $76.13. Fortive Co. has a 12-month low of $62.77 and a 12-month high of $87.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.03, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.13.

Fortive (NYSE:FTV) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The technology company reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.53 billion. Fortive had a return on equity of 12.22% and a net margin of 14.68%. Research analysts expect that Fortive Co. will post 3.8 EPS for the current year.

Fortive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 31st. Fortive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.65%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on FTV shares. Truist Financial started coverage on Fortive in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $99.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Fortive from $93.00 to $83.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Fortive from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Fortive from $101.00 to $98.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on Fortive from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.46.

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.